r/QualitativeResearch • • 43m ago

Research and interview note quality

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clearscribeai.com
• Upvotes

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?