ETHNOGRAPHY AND ORTHOGRAPHY - A (MODEST) METHODOLOGICAL PROPOSAL

In this article, I make a methodological plea for the utility of trans cribing in field research. I begin by noting that, despite much recent talk of the mutual relevance of ethnography and conversation analysis , transcribing has not been addressed as a topic in its own right. I c onsider the goals of transcribing from a conversation analytic perspec tive and compare these with the aims of producing field notes. Then, I explicate the process of transcribing, calling attention to problems that arise from conventional procedures for representing talk in texts . Consideration of the difficulties many ethnographers face in attempt ing to introduce audio and video tape recorders into their field sites leads me to examine the analytical advantages of transcribing with-an d without-tape-recorded data.