Recording provide a secure way of keeping all of the data but it can may sometimes have a negative impact on the interview. Many people feel inhibited by the fact their words will be recorded: it makes them very conscious of what they that are saying and how they say it so you may choose to make a trade-off and opt for no recording order make your interviewee feel more comfortable. Of course some in to interviewees could simply refuse to be recorded: this is their right and you should always respect this. Unless your intention is to transcribe every single word of the interview there may be no real need to record at all. You could always choose to take notes: the problem here is that you could be so busy writing things down you miss important data. There is a fine balance between noting important information and remaining actively involved in the conversation. If you enter the interview with a note pad ready prepared, topics listed and a space for relevant verbatim quotes then this could make life a lot easier. I use a small A5 perforated note pad. I list the topics on the verso side of the first page that way have access to my list at all times. I write down anything I may want to use as evidence in the form of verbatim quotes opposite on the next page. This is marked with the code I am using for that interviewee. Once I the next interview I simple remove the response notes move to and I'm ready to start the next interview with a clean page.