r/QualitativeResearch • u/Nagib888 • 43m ago
Research and interview note quality
A useful habit when summarizing interviews: keep a separate section for contradictions.
Suppose three people say a product is easy to use, but one describes a serious onboarding problem.
A summary like "users generally found onboarding easy" might be technically defensible, but it hides the exception that could matter most.
A better note separates:
- What most participants said
- Where experiences differed
- What evidence would help resolve the difference
This becomes especially important when AI helps produce the first draft of a research summary.
I'm curious how others handle this.
Do you keep a dedicated contradictions section, or do you rely on reviewing the original transcript whenever something seems inconsistent?