Tape Recording Focus Groups

David L. Morgan

>    I get a lot questions about tape recording focus groups and other forms
> of qualitative interviews, so I have prepared this message as a general
> reply to such queries.
>
>    When it comes to getting good recordings of focus groups, microphones
> are far more important than tape recorders. The built-in microphones on
> nearly all tape recorders are designed to pick up sounds from a specific
> location, usually right near the tape recorder itself. Group interviews are
> inherently "omni-directional." So, I generally use an inexpensive,
> serviceable cassette recorder with a very high quality microphone.
>
>    My current set up uses a $50 tape recorder from Radio Shack. I buy from
> them because their equipment is rugged and reliable. If you pay more than
> $50 or so for a tape recorder, you are mostly getting features that have to
> do with recording or playing music. Virtually all tape recorders operate
> best in the range of the human voice, which is what you will be recording.
> Paying more money usually improves your ability to deal with pitches that
> are well above and below the range you are interested in.
>
>    The one feature that I would spend more money to get is "auto reverse,"
> which effectively turns the tape over for you, so that you don't have to
> remember to do this yourself.
>
>    As for microphones, I have two that I use routinely. One is also from
> Radio Shack and it is called a "pressure zone" or "boundary effect" mike.
> It is excellent for picking sound from a whole room. You can easily
> recognize whether you have the right item because it is black, sits flat on
> the table, and looks like a cross between a manta ray and a stealth bomber.
> One caution, however, is that it probably comes with a 1-4" jack, rather
> than the standard "mini-pin," but the good folks at Radio Shack will be
> more than happy to sell you an adapter. Cost for the mike is about $60,
> plus $1-2 for the adapter.
>
>    The other mike I use is from Sony and costs $100 retail. They call it a
> boundary effects mike as well, but it looks entirely different. Another
> name for it is a "mini-tower" since it stands about two inches tall and
> looks like a small black lipstick. the primary advantage of this mike is
> that it is smaller and lighter weight than than the Radio Shack equivalent.
>
>    Sony also sells something that they call a "flat mike" for around $60.
> It works well for smaller groups, and it may work better for noisy rooms
> than their mini-tower (I've never compared the two of them side by side in
> a setting like a restaurant).
>
>    If you do want to rely on a tape recorder alone without an external
> mike, you might look into a Sony tape recorder that has a flat mike built
> into it, such as the higher quality version "Pressman" model which retails
> for around $120 with an auto-reverse feature. The advantage of this would
> be not having as many things to haul around, Remember, sound quality,
> rather than convenience, should be your number one concern -- after all,
> the tapes are your main source of data. In general, I would consider this
> recorder to be excellent for one-on-one interviews, but not good enough for
> focus groups.
>
>    Here are a couple of other tips. 1) Never use the voice-acutation or VOR
> feature, since this cuts off the first second or two of what each person
> says (I have a piece of tape over that feature on my recorders so it can't
> get switched on accidentally). 2) Always do a live-test with your recording
> set-up in the field before you start. That is, put everything together
> exactly the way you will be using it, record something, and then play it
> back. Even if all you check is "testing, 1-2-3" you will at least know that
> the recorder is working. You need to do this even if you are late or in a
> hurry, since the alternative is an increased risk of walking away with a
> blank tape for your efforts. 3) Practice setting up and using your
> equipment at home before doing your first interview. Even better is to
> practice in a setting similar to the one where you will actually be
> working. When I first started teaching students to do interviews, I was
> horrified at how many came back with a blank tape from their first
> interview because they hadn't taken the time to master their equipment, so
> don't let that happen you.
>
>    Once you've gotten these kind of mechanics out of the way, you'll be in
> much better shape to go out there and do interesting work.

--
David L. Morgan <morgand@pdx.edu>
Institute on Aging
Portland State University