Specifically, I will address issues regarding re-presentation and voice in research texts, and the vulnerability of the researcher in studying the lives of those who experience tragic life events. At the heart of this research project were struggles with issues concerning reflexivity. It was through the continuous process of turning back onto myself that issues regarding re-presentation and voice emerged. Generally, within educational and psychological research, emphasis is placed on rigor in the transcription process. Oral interviews are usually transcribed verbatim, which means inclusion of every utterance, pause, tone of voice, and frequently, body language.
Precision is important because the researcher is analysing the structure of language.
The assumptions of the interpreter are generally not in question. I do not believe that exact reproduction of people s speech is possible. All that we can do as researchers is attempt to reproduce the communicative events as closely as possible they will never be exact. Also, we cannot reproduce past events. We can only attempt to reconstruct life events and hope that there will be some degree of verisimilitude.