In a similar vein to 'writing-up nightmare', is anyone in the social sciences yet at the most mundane bit (so far)?
And, if so, any tips?
I'm finding its taking me an hour to transcribe about 7-minutes worth of dialogue, and I'm feeling like I'll never get out of this phase - there's just sooo many hours of interviews waiting to be transcribed..............it's soul-destroying.

No tips, but lots of sympathy. and, if you'll permit, a little bit of gloating that thank god the transcribing is behind me. You're right, it is a nightmare. And I think a lot of the tips about writing up work well - do it in small chunks, focus on what you've done not how much there is still to do, make sure you have somewhere comfortable to work. I also found (and dont tell my supervisor this) I soon started to worry less about being completely accurate - as long as I got the sense of what people said, that was enough for the sort of analysis I was doing, tho now when I am writing up if I want to quote something I go back and check the original tape.

I got so fed up with my transcribing that I decided not to be so particular about it. Who's ever going to check anyway? Ok, this might not be the right attitude, but it stopped me from going completely mad!!

How are you doing it? I borrowed a transcribing machine from my department control with foot pedals to allow you to slow down the speech to your typing speed. Once I found out about this machine (I wasn't told about it until I had done quite a few tapes!) I found it a bit quicker than using a tape recorder to play back the tape and having to stop it etc.

Sorry that should have said:

I borrowed a transcribing machine from my department. It is controlled by foot pedals to allow you to slow down the speech to your typing speed...

What a good idea. When you slow it down, do your respondents end up sounding like Barry White?

transcribing machines are good and your department may let you borrow it

I paid someone to do mine for my masters - I got to the point when I was about to cut my own throat, but I think if I had a transcribing machine (I did look at buying one but they were v expensive) it wouldnt be so awful ...
They reckon 7-9 hours typing for 1 hours conversation if you are a reasonable typist.
good luck

?????????????? tape!!! pedals!!!!!!!!!!!! Whaaaaaa? Is this DanB reviving a post from 1972?

I am doing most of my interviews online [iChat for Mac] so the interviews are already transcribed, or in the instance that I use audio the software converts to text in a tiff file and I copy and paste into word. FTF interviews done on an MP3/4 recorder then uploaded into text & converted, I hope though I have not yet tried.

Blimey! You guys are all living in the 21st century! Unfortunately, my dept is not. When i asked for a recorder, they plonked down this 1970's enormous brown thing (remember, with great big buttons, about the size of an armchair?).
Anyhoo, I managed to borrow a digital recorder from a friend, which makes life easier, but I think asking for a pedal-thingy would be like asking for the moon on a stick.
Dan'B', I do have to transcribe them myself, partly cos of confidentiality, as I promised my participants I would, but also because my supervisors said I should so that i am fully 'immersed' in the data. But I'm so immersed I'm drowning!

A link about transcribing interviews written by a PhD student (just discovered it randomly today and then found your thread in this forum!):

http://www.music.training.rhul.ac.uk/studled_oral.doc

Good luck

Cheers Nimrod - It is indeed very helpful!
PS What are you doing up at 4:58 am???

I cant imagine NOT doing it with a transcribing machine. It must be a nightmare otherwise!

chchch... I was at work, nightshift this week, plenty of time to browse the Internet as there's really nothing to do.

120 interviews????!!!! Blimey - how many are you intending?