Transcribing and analysing spoken data: looking beyond the implicit in TV interviews

Abstract

This paper presents the transcription and analysis of an interview with Julian Assange, founder and editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks. Assange is an enigmatic man with sympathisers and opponents all over the world. To his sympathisers he is the hero of a free transparent press; to his opponents, he is a dangerous man for openly revealing sensitive information. These two views merge as the interview develops and as spectators try to understand this social event. The transcription and analysis of this interview are presented with the aim of exemplifying three research techniques for social sciences: collecting, transcribing and analysing spoken data. I also highlight the importance of having social scientists develop these research techniques, which are usually taken for granted.