Done!!  The 30 interviews are completed as of 12th January, a bit later than the timeline which had aimed for end October but I am there now........  A fantastic journey, and a very privileged one where interviewees have told me their very personal stories to help depression research.  The overriding wish of everyone has been that their experiences be used to try and help other people avoid going through the same horrors of depression that they have faced.  Thank you.

So what are some of my reflections on this stage of the study?

- Finding homes in remote rural Norfolk is not easy; having my SatNav was a great help, I could not have managed without it.  Even so, evening interviews were still difficult as although the SatNav got me to the right area, finding the correct house in the dark, often with no streetlights and with houses set right back off the road posed some problems; a phone call to the waiting interviewee got me there finally....

- Telephone calls are very time consuming, people are never in when you want them.  Early evening was generally the best time to speak with people and arrange the interview.

- Confirming the interview time, date and place on the day preceding the pre-arranged time was also essential, many people assumed they were coming to the surgery as that is where they would normally expect to see me if I am wearing my clinical 'hat'; this was despite being quite clear when arranging the interview that they were happy for me to go to them....

- 29 out of the 30 interviews occurred in the interviewees home, only one took place in the surgery.  However, this was fine as it occurred on a day I would not normally be in the surgery and I used a room upstairs which I would not normally use, consequently I had no interruptions.

- Interview recording was brilliant using the digital recorder, an extremely worthwhile investment.  It was so much more preferable than having to use and worry about tapes.  There was only one recording disaster when not a word was taped........ Why did it happen?  I am not sure but I suspect I must have knocked the record button as I positioned the mike.  The lesson to learn from this is to always make sure I can see the red light on the mike which confirms recording is taking place.  I wrote up the unrecorded interview as soon as I got home and made 4 pages of notes, clearly not as good as the real thing but it will do and I think I have remembered all the key aspects of the interview.

- 25 interviews have been sent to a recommended professional transcriber - my long 3 hour interview is back, she transcribed the interview in one working day, amazing as it would have taken me days and days........

- My skills as an intervieiwer have evolved, the NatCen Course has really benefitted me; I think my active listening skills and ability to probe have developed, they are certainly skills which I am aware I apply to other areas of my life too now.  Reading through the transcripts will continue my learining too.

So now onto the next stage of data analysis, I am now about to start applying Framework to the transcripts as they all become available, I think I will also enter them into N6 to help with identifying themes.  Exciting to be getting on and progressing with the next stage of the study.