A transcript can be annoyingly hard to read, intelligently edited, or very, very detailed depending on the transcription style used.

There are three basic styles of transcription:

Verbatim

Verbatim transcription is a detailed account of every word, sound and non-verbal communication (like laughter and pauses) on the recording. Here’s an example:

“…’Cause I mean…I think there are so many different needs er… different requirements within each one of those you know, those many and different segments that er… if you can hone in on each one of those segments um… and gosh there’s a lot of needs within the 25 to 54 [laughs]. I mean you know you’re getting families and…”

In this style the recording is transcribed without deleting or editing anything.

Verbatim transcription is used for research and analysis where every little detail counts.

Clean Read

This style uses editing and paraphrasing to create easy-to-read and ready-to-print transcripts. For example:

“There are so many different requirements within each one of those different segments that if you can hone in on each one of those… and gosh there are a lot of needs within the 25 to 54! I mean, you’re getting families and…”

Here the transcriptionist removes fillers, paraphrases incomplete sentences, corrects minor grammatical errors and presents the text in short, easy-to-read paragraphs.

This is the preferred style of transcription for business-related recordings

Intelligent Verbatim

This is a cross between the verbatim and clean read styles of transcription; it mixes word-for-word transcription with light editing. For example:

“…’Cause I think there are so many different requirements within each one of those many and different segments that if you can hone in on each one of those segments… and gosh there’s a lot of needs within the 25 to 54 . I mean you’re getting families and…”

In this style the transcriptionist doesn’t correct grammatical errors or paraphrase the sentences, but simply edits out the ums, ahs, you knows, etc. to create a neater transcript.

This is the default style of transcription used by transcription services unless you ask for something different.

Which one is best for you? Think of how you plan to use your transcript. A simple rule of thumb is to use verbatim or intelligent verbatim for research and clean read for business.

It’s a good idea to let your transcription service know your preferred style of transcription so that you get the right level of detail in your transcripts.

It’s generally a monologue, an interview or a conversation that’s systematically recorded, verified, analyzed and stored by oral historians and researchers.

Transcribing oral histories can be a rewarding experience because of the rich detail and insight they offer. Here are a few tips to get the transcription right:

Transcribe Verbatim

An oral history captures the unique perspective of the speaker. It is therefore imperative that you don’t paraphrase anything that’s said.

The transcript should be present an exact, word-for-word account of what’s spoken.

Do Some Intelligent Editing

Narrators of oral histories often use a lot of fillers and clipped sentences. These can be edited for easier reading, after discussion with the client.

Send a verbatim and edited version of a section of the transcript to the client, highlighting the changes you’ve made and the reasoning behind your editing. This will form the basis of your discussion. Once you establish what the client needs, you can proceed without worrying about re-work later.

If the transcript looks like it needs a professional editor, point this out to the client and offer to do a verbatim transcript that can be edited by someone else.

Research Research Research

Oral histories are full of references to people the speaker knew, places they visited, famous personalities of their times, hangouts in their town etc. All these words have to be researched online to get the spellings right.

You can type these words phonetically while typing the first draft and do the research later, while proofreading.

It’s tempting to leave these words as blanks in the transcript, but that just means additional work for the client. If you want your clients to become lifelong customers, take the time to do it right!

Add Time Codes

Transcripts of oral histories are used for research. At some point in time, someone would want to hear how the speaker sounded while saying something mentioned on the transcript. At this point time codes can be a great help in locating the correct part of the recording to hear.

After discussion with your client, place periodic time codes in the transcript. These time codes are usually in [hh:mm:ss] format and are placed in the transcript every few minutes, every time the speaker changes, or every time a new question is asked etc.

Use Speaker Identification

Some oral histories are in the form of conversations between 2-3 people. Find out the names of the participants and clearly identify each person separately in the transcript.

If the client wants to maintain anonymity of the participants, use markers like Male 1, Female 2, Interviewer, etc.

Stay tuned for more tips of transcribing!

A simple search for terms like ‘transcription service’ or ‘transcriptionist’ on Google, Twitter or Facebook will throw up several pages worth of information.

But how do you decide which is the right service for you? What questions should you ask? What instructions should you provide? How do you decide what you need?

Here are some things to consider:

1. Transcription style

Decide how you want the recording transcribed.

Do you need a word-for-word transcript or would you rather have the unnecessary parts (like the ums and ahs) edited out?

There are two styles of transcription generally used – Verbatim & Clean Read.

Verbatim transcription involves typing out every word and sound on the recording along with non-verbal communication such as laughter, pauses, etc.

This style is ideal for research and analysis. But if you’re simply looking for the main ideas on the recording, a transcript based on this style may be cumbersome to read.

Clean read transcription makes for easier reading. It involves typing all the important parts but leaving out the irrelevant content such as fillers, false starts, side conversations, etc.

2.  Transcription Turnaround time

How soon do you need the transcript?

One hour of recording takes 4-5 hours to transcribe. The transcription time increases if  the recording involves strong accents, background noise, multiple speakers, technical terminology etc.

If you need editing & formatting as well, that would require additional time.

The standard turnaround time of most transcription services is 3-5 business days depending on the length of the recording.

If you need a transcript sooner, mention this to the transcription service before the project begins and discuss any applicable ‘rush’ charges.

3. Technical Terminology

What is the subject of your recording? Is there industry-specific terminology involved (related to finance, software, real estate etc.)?

If you need technical terms transcribed, look for a  transcription service that researches spellings at the time of transcribing. This will save you a lot of time filling in the blanks.

If you don’t need the technical terms transcribed, you can ask the transcription service to put a time stamp (hh:mm:ss) at the point in the transcript where the word appears. This will help you quickly skip to the relevant part of the audio at the time of proof reading.

Transcription services charge a higher rate for technical recordings, so it’s a good idea to ask for a quote before sending work.

4. Accents

People with neutral accents are easy to understand (and transcribe).

But transcribing speakers with accents requires familiarity with the accents. For example, not everyone can transcribe an Australian or Irish accent unless they have a trained ear for these.

If the speakers on your recording have strong accents, it would be wise to choose a transcription service that is familiar with the accents involved.

5. Audio Clarity

If your recording has background noise, low volume, echo, or multiple speakers talking over each other, then it will be hard to transcribe.

Such recordings require several rounds of proofreading to reach a decent level of accuracy and therefore take much longer to transcribe.

Additionally, there’s no guarantee of accuracy and the costs are invariably higher.

It’s a good idea to send a sample file to your transcriber so that they can give you an accurate evaluation and quote before starting work. You can even ask for a paid sample to see if it’s worth the effort.

Precaution is better than cure in this case. Try using professional recording gear to ensure a good quality recording.

6. Speaker Identification

When there’s more than one person speaking on a recording, it helps to have each speaker identified separately on the transcript, like:

John: blah, blah, blah

Katy: blah, blah, blah

Or

Speaker 1: blah, blah, blah

Speaker 2: blah, blah, blah

Transcribing 2-3 speakers is not a particularly difficult task, but if there are more involved, then the transcriptionist has to listen very carefully to differentiate between the voices of the different speakers to mark their names correctly on the transcript.

Not everyone can do this well and therefore it’s a good idea to choose an experienced transcriber or transcription company for recordings with multiple speakers.

7. Editing

Many transcription companies provide editing services that can be used for creating a ready-to-use documents.

Editing services may include checking the transcripts for grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, fillers, false starts, slangs, etc.

You can also ask for the text to be placed under contextual headings or have the transcript converted into an information product such as an e-book, blog post, workbook, handout, PowerPoint presentation, etc.

Transcription companies that provide editing services usually charge more. Discuss what you need and ask for a quote to make sure you don’t go beyond budget.

8. Formatting

This is an important one if you don’t want to land up with a long document without breaks, something like this:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nam nisi nibh, vestibulum eu vulputate in, pharetra id velit. Phasellus aliquet, leo eu porttitor sagittis, augue elit ultricies sem, a dignissim nisi dui vel dolor. Nulla eget nisl sit amet dui condimentum ullamcorper. Proin ultricies viverra pharetra. Sed at ipsum urna, ut malesuada sapien. Mauris id ipsum dui, nec lobortis arcu. Donec imperdiet porttitor nisl a vehicula. Integer in neque sed ipsum commodo mollis at id est. Suspendisse lacus ipsum, molestie sit amet suscipit sit amet, suscipit ut lorem. Proin lacinia convallis nisi, et adipiscing nunc ultrices in. Ut at leo tellus. Nulla quis massa turpis. Cras semper dolor quis mauris faucibus eget tristique tellus ornare. Fusce pellentesque justo dolor, sit amet porta augue. Proin tristique malesuada velit eu lobortis. Phasellus ornare mollis laoreet. Fusce vel neque vitae eros cursus interdum. Fusce dapibus felis nec eros condimentum accumsan. Duis cursus semper arcu, sed venenatis mi fringilla euismod. Aliquam eget urna quis augue mattis tincidunt. Donec dapibus cursus odio, a volutpat leo pretium et. Morbi tellus nisl, rhoncus non accumsan vel, auctor ut felis. Nulla congue tristique augue vel egestas. Ut dignissim convallis lectus, id porta eros varius non. Morbi sit amet euismod orci. Integer et nisi leo. Proin nunc arcu, molestie ut gravida id, molestie semper neque. Nulla gravida urna sit amet libero dictum scelerisque.

Let the transcription service know that you would need the text broken into short, easy-to-read paragraphs with page breaks at appropriate places.

You can also ask for additional formatting such as headings, subheadings, special margins, italicizing of text, etc.

This may involves additional time and cost, but is worth it in the long run.

9. Transcription of videos

Most transcription companies convert video files to audio formats compatible with transcription software.

If a video cannot be converted, then the transcription must be done directly from the video. The same principle applies to online videos such as the ones on YouTube.

As a rule, transcribing videos takes longer and costs more. Checking on the additional costs and turnaround time may be a good idea.

10. Time stamping & Time Coding

Time stamps are inserted in a transcript where the transcriptionist can’t understand a word. They’re usually in [hh:mm:ss] format and are helpful while editing.

Time codes are periodic codes placed on a transcript (say every minute or every 3 minutes etc.). Time codes are also placed on transcripts of video footage.

Discuss your requirement with the transcription service to ensure they put in the right stamps/codes.

11. Sending files

How are you going to send recordings to the transcription service? Do they provide online space where you can upload files? Can you use FTP or send a link to the recordings? Emailing recordings is not a good idea due to size and encryption issues.

How will the transcript be delivered? Will you receive a downloadable link? Would the transcript be sent as an attachment in an email?

Many transcription services provide free online space for uploading files. If they don’t, you can use online file transfer services such as yousendit.com, sendthisfile.com, etc.

Using securing online storage for sharing files is highly recommended if you’re concerned about the safety of your data.

12. Payment methods

Depending on the location of the transcription service, there are several payment options to choose from such as PayPal, Moneybookers, Payoneer, and Xoom. Wire transfers, moneygrams, and checks are also some options available.

Deciding on a mutually convenient method of payment will save a lot of inconvenience later. Don’t forget to check for transaction fees that differ according to the payment method used.

Outsourcing your transcription work can lead to substantial savings both in terms of time and cost. But an uninformed decision can lead to the opposite.

For best results, invest a little time on research and ask the right questions.

Good luck!

But over the years I’ve developed several tricks to make it easier. In this post I’ll share a few of them and hopefully you’ll find them useful:

1. Keep a database of spellings

I have an 20-page word document of IT-related spellings that I guard with my life.

This document has four categories – Acronyms, Applications & Software, Companies and People that I’ve come across while transcribing.

It’s sprinkled with words like Cloud BI (Business Intelligence), OLAP (Online Analytical Processing), SaaS (Software as a Service), WinShuttle, Microsoft, ORACLE, ESS/MSS, etc.).

The document is like a dictionary of IT-related words that saves me a lot of online-research time.

You can easily create such a document while transcribing a recording, updating it with new spellings as you you go.

This is especially useful if you’re working on a large number of recordings on the same topic OR working with a repeat customer.

2. Do some pre-work

Before starting to transcribe a recording, I do one round of listening simply to gather clues about the topic – like the software being discussed, the company in question, and most importantly – if the recording is part of an event that I can research online.

Large events like seminars and conferences usually have dedicated websites with a wealth of content that can be used for reference. Content can also be found on websites of companies that have organized the event.

If you can find links to PDFs/blogs for the event you’re transcribing, you can add them as favorites on your web browser and use them for reference.

3. Discuss the transcription style with your client

People who are passionate about their subject usually speak at a high rate of speech, frequently change their mind in mid-sentence and use an enormous amount of fillers (the ums, ahs, you knows, etc.).

Most clients don’t want a verbatim transcript of these speakers; they prefer a neat, easy-to-read transcript.

Knowing this beforehand can be a blessing because you can save hundreds of keystrokes by leaving out those unnecessary words. Thus it’s always a good idea to discuss the transcription style (verbatim or clean read) with the client before beginning a project.

4. Add time Codes

IT-related transcripts are often used for research and analysis. You can delight your client by adding periodic time codes in the transcript that will help them review the transcript with the audio when they begin the analysis stage of their work.

Were these tips helpful? Do you have your own short-cuts that you use while transcribing IT-related audio? Do share some tips with us!

Needless to say, the process is quite time-consuming. A single hour of recording can take anywhere between 5-9 hours to transcribe.

Since a lot of transcription services charge by the hour, it’s a good idea to have a basic understanding of the factors that affect transcription turnaround time.

1. Accents

The stronger (and uncommon) the accents of the speakers, the longer it takes to transcribe a recording.

2. Number of Speakers

Any recording with more than 3 speakers would take longer to transcribe, especially if the speakers are all talking at the same time.

3. Subject of the Recording

Recordings with technical terminology require research for spellings and therefore take longer to transcribe.

Simple recordings with lots of names of places, personalities, books etc. can also take time for the same reason.

4. Rate of Speech

If the participants on a recording speak really fast and with very few pauses, the recording will definitely take a lot of listening and re-listening. That means extra transcription time.

5. Audio Quality

Outdoor recordings or recordings made without using microphones usually have background noise or ‘echo’. These recordings need several rounds of listening and therefore take longer to transcribe.

6. Typing Speed

Typing at the speed of around 80 wpm, it would take approximately 8-10 minutes to transcribe a 1-minute recording. So an hour of clearly recorded audio/video would takes about 5 hours to transcribe.

7. Experience

Experience plays a big role in transcription time, for e.g., knowledge of a subject (like software or finance) can greatly reduce research time and improve transcription speed.

Familiarity with a speaker’s style and the words they commonly use also helps improve transcription time and accuracy (that’s why people like to stick to their transcription service once they’ve found a good one).

All factors considered, here’s a simple guide to transcription turnaround time for a 1-hour recording:

Simple recording (no background noise, 1-3 speakers): 5 hours.

Complex recording (background noise, more than 3 speakers, strong accents, or technical content): 7-9 hours.

Knowing this is helpful in calculating costs if your transcription service charges by hours worked. But there are some transcription companies that charge by audio-minute (1 audio minute = 1 minute of recording). This means you pay only for the audio length, no matter how long the transcription service takes to transcribe it. That’s usually a better way go because of the transparency it allows.

The time code is generally in the format [hh:mm:ss] and is inserted periodically in the transcript depending on user specifications.

Sounds easy, yet if you’ve ever transcribed, you know how tedious it can be to stop the flow of typing to insert those innocent looking numbers multiple times in a transcript. Well, here’s a short cut for the Express Scribe users amongst you:

How to set up a short-cut key for time codes on Express Scribe

1. Open Express Scribe and click on OPTIONS > System-Wide Hot-Keys

2. The OPTIONS window opens.

The Click on the ADD button at the bottom of this window.

3. The ADD NEW HOT-KEY window opens.

From the COMMAND drop-down, choose COPY TIME, then click on CHANGE.

4. The PRESS KEY window opens.

Press the function key that you’d like to use for time codes (usually F1, F11 and F12 are free on Express Scribe).

5. The ADD NEW HOT-KEY window re-appears.

Click on OK to complete the procedure.

6. To use the new hot key, for example F12, go to your document and with Express Scribe still open, press F12 + CTRL V (i.e. paste).

You’ll have to add the [brackets] manually if needed.

That’s it, hope this simplifies time-coding for you. Do post a comment if you find this helpful or of if you have a question.

Happy Transcribing!

1. List of Questions

If it’s an interview or a focus group that you’re sending out for transcription, provide the transcriptionist with a list of questions asked by the interviewer or host. This will help the transcriptionist understand the speakers and grasp context.

2. Names of Speakers

Are there multiple speakers on the call? Do you need each speaker identified by name? Do you need their names spelled correctly so that you don’t have to edit them yourself later? Give your transcriptionist a list of the participants’ names that they can use while transcribing.

3. List of Technical Terms or Acronyms

If your audio is on a technical subject (like medicine, software, healthcare, etc.) it’s a good idea to provide your transcriptionist with a list of commonly used terms and acronyms used by the speaker/s on the recording. This will not only save the transcriptionist a lot of research time (and thereby improve turnaround time) but vastly improve the accuracy of the transcript.

4. Editing Instructions

Tell your transcriptionist whether you need a verbatim or clean read transcript. Even if you edit the transcript yourself later, this one step will save you a LOT of time removing (or adding) those ums, ahs and pauses.

5. Formatting Instructions

Finally, with all the above things don’t forget to provide formatting instructions. If you need labels added, specific words italicized, page number or headers added – let your transcriptionist know beforehand so that you don’t have to send the work back for formatting or worse, format it yourself. The simplest way to do this is to provide a sample transcript (if you have one) that’s formatted to your liking.

Keep these simple things in mind whenever you send out a recording for transcription and you’ll see a tremendous improvement in the results you get – oh and don’t forget to use a microphone for all your recordings!

1 Audio Minute = 60 seconds of audio/video recording

This means that no matter how long it takes to transcribe a recording, you would still pay by length of the recording and not the actual hours worked.

Here are a few factors that affect transcription rates:

Audio Quality

Professionally recorded high quality  audio is the easiest to transcribe and therefore costs the least.

Audio with background noise or recording issues is difficult to understand and may require several rounds of proofreading to ensure accuracy; such audio therefore costs more.

Quick Tip: For those who record regularly, it may be a good idea to invest in a DVR or some other form of recording equipment. This will help generate high quality audio that will bring down transcription costs.

Accents

Recordings involving heavy accents generally require a native speaker of the accent (or a very experienced transcriptionist) to transcribe them accurately. For this reason, accented audio can costs considerably more depending on the accents involved. The Australian, Irish and Scottish accents are considered to be some of the most difficult ones to transcribe and cost the most. More neutralized accents such as the US accent are easier to understand  and cost lesser.

Quick Tip: When recording with speakers who have heavy accents, it helps to lay down some ground rules to ensure that the recording is clearly understandable both for listeners as well as transcribers.

Subject of the Recording

A recording on a technical subject like finance, real estate or healthcare would likely have terms and phrases that are not commonly known. These terms need to be researched to ensure correct spelling and context. For this reason, recordings on technical subjects take longer to transcribe and cost more.

Quick Tip: To improve the accuracy of transcripts on technical subjects, it is advisable to provide a list of commonly used terms to the transcription company. This will reduce transcription time and improve accuracy.

Number of Speakers

A single speaker talking at a steady rate of speech is easy to understand and transcribe. However, if a recording involves multiple speakers talking simultaneously (at a dinner meeting for example), it becomes difficult to catch all that is being said. Identifying each speaker by name also becomes a challenge in such cases. Multi-speaker audio therefore costs more to get transcribed and yet does not always meet accuracy requirements.

Quick Tip: When planning to record a multi-speaker audio, spend some time choosing a good microphone and DVR. Also instruct the participants to speak one at a time and mention their names before speaking.

This requires a keen ear and attention to detail. Verbatim transcripts cannot be created  by mindlessly listening and typing. One has to pay close attention to every sound, tone, word and make intelligent use of punctuation to convey the correct message.

Here are 4 important rules of verbatim transcription:

1. Capture EVERY word (don’t paraphrase)

Many transcriptionists have the habit of paraphrasing statements to convey the general idea of what is being said rather than typing out the exact words. This process is called clean read transcription is much preferred in business transcription because of the easy-to-read transcripts it produces. But it’s not very popular amongst researchers and analysts who need to know exactly what was said. Here are a couple of examples to illustrate the difference between the two styles -

Paraphrased sentence: “I was screaming for my mother and she was maybe 30 yards away in the house, she couldn’t have even heard me even if she was outside.”

Verbatim sentence: “And I’m screaming. You know, I’m screaming. I’m screaming for my mother. And She was uh maybe 30 yards away in the house. I mean she could have never heard me. Even if she was outside she probably wouldn’t have heard me.”

While the meaning conveyed in both sentences is the same, the emotion is far more pronounced in the second one. Depending on what the transcript is going to be used for, this may make a world of difference. So in verbatim transcription, it’s important to type each and every word that is said.

2. Don’t leave out non-verbal communication

Communication has a lot of components other than words – such as laughter, pauses, hand gestures, etc. Verbatim transcription captures all these in order to give a true account of what’s being said.

For example,

K: What does you mother think?

N: .. Not much. . She agrees with me . yeah.

K: Really?! [Laughs] Are you sure?!

[N laughs]

Here are a few more rules for transcribing non-verbal communication:
When two speakers speak at the same time, indicate this with /, as in:

N: Yes, I have been /living here

K: /Oh you have?

N: for three years.

I.e. ‘living here’ and ‘oh you have’ were said at the same time and N continued on his sentence without stopping.

Use = when two lines come directly after one another without a gap e.g.

K: Did you like her? =

N: = Yes!

That is a very fast reply.

For short pauses add a full stop, each one representing a second. For pauses longer than 4 seconds, put time in brackets and italicised e.g. [6 second pause]

3. Catch those fillers and false starts

Fillers are the ums, ahs, you knows, that are often used by speakers to buy time to think.

False starts are sentences that are started but never completed, such as:

“I would say that’s not such a… I mean that may not be… it’best to check with an expert before proceeding in such matters.”

Fillers and false starts may break the flow of speaking but often provide insights into the thinking process of a speaker. The process of verbatim transcription therefore includes these components in the transcript rather than editing them out.

4. Note external sounds

Qualitative research and even market research often requires knowing what’s happening in the surroundings while the subject or interviewee is speaking. Some examples of external sounds can be sounds of doors opening, people walking in, a side conversation between fellow participants, etc. These sounds/events should be duly noted on the transcript in brackets and with time stamps if required.

The main idea of verbatim transcription is to capture both the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of speech. Not everyone requires the same level of detail – for example, someone may need the non-verbal communication transcribed but may not want any external sounds/events noted on the transcript. It’s always a good idea to thoroughly discuss the specific requirements with your client before beginning a transcription project so that you know exactly what to transcribe and what to leave out.

Identify the Transcription Style

In research interviews the HOW of what’s being said is almost as important as the WHAT. For this reason the preferred style of transcription for these interviews is Verbatim Transcription. This style involves typing out everything that’s recorded on the interview including -

• Fillers (the ums, ahs, you knows, etc.)
• False starts, i.e. sentences that are started but then changed to something else (For e.g., “I think that would be…I’d say that’s something important”).
• Repeated words/phrases (e.g., “in that case, in that case the methodology would differ”)
• Non-verbal communication (such as laughter, long pauses, coughing, etc.)
• Other observations from the recording such as side conversations, over talking, interruptions, people walking in or out, etc.

The alternative style of transcription is Clean Read. This style is not used in research transcription as it involves editing out some part of the text.

Provide Formatting Guidelines

If everything on a recording is typed out in a single chunk of text, it would be impossible to decipher anything of value from the transcript. And you as the end-user of the transcript would end up spending hours trying to figure out where one speaker stopped and the next one began speaking! To avoid this, provide some basic guidelines to your transcriptionist, such as -

Paragraphing

The entire transcript should be broken down into small paragraphs for ease of reading. This of course doesn’t mean unnecessarily changing paragraphs even if it’s contextually incorrect – but common sense should be used to break down long monologues.

Speaker Identification

The initials/first name/full name should be mentioned each time the speaker changes. This can also be marked in bold for easy identification. The speech of the interviewer and interviewee/s can also be differentiated by using italicized text for one of them.

Using italics or brackets for emphasis

Italics can be used to mark text that is spoken with particular emphasis. Some people prefer to use [brackets] or text in bold for this purpose.

Time stamping

A 100% accurate transcript is a myth. No matter how skilled a transcriptionist, there would always be some words that are unclear or inaudible on a recording. These should be time stamped [hh:mm] or [hh:mm:ss] and highlighted for easy identification while editing. You can then quickly play just that portion of the recording and make the necessary corrections when reviewing the transcript.

Other customized formatting

Some people like to add customized formatting such as-

‘…’ for short pauses

[duration] for long pauses

/ for one speaker finishing of a sentence started by another, etc.

These instructions should be clearly documented and shared with the transcriptionist before beginning transcription.

Test Accuracy

Accuracy of course is crucial in research transcription (a minimum of98.5%). To find out how accurate your transcripts are going to be, it’s a good idea to ask your transcriptionist to complete one interview as a test. Most transcription companies charge for samples and you may have to invest a small amount in testing the skills of several service providers. But in the long run this would pay off in terms of both time and money spent on getting the transcripts proofed by someone else.

Research Prices

Most PhD students and Research Associates work on small budgets. The expenses for transcription are either paid out of their own pockets or through limited-amount grants from their college/university/institute. Keeping this in mind, most transcription companies offer discounts on research transcription that can be availed by provide a copy of a college ID card or other documents that prove that you’re a student.

That said, research transcription does require considerably more effort as compared to other types of transcription (such as business transcription). As such transcription rates for research interviews normally range between $25.00 – $55.00 per audio hour. The cost can vary depending on several factors (including where you’re outsourcing to). It’s a good idea to ask for a quote from several service providers to compare prices.

Discuss Confidentiality

Be sure to ask the service provider to provide a signed NDA that clearly states that the material (interviews as well as transcripts) will be kept confidential and deleted at the end of the project. Most good transcription companies provide these options proactively, but it’s still a good idea to outline (and document) your requirements before beginning work.

Review Often

If you choose the services of a new transcription company (or one you’re hiring for the first time), it would be a good idea to review the transcripts periodically rather than waiting till all the interviews have been transcribed.

Did you find this post useful? Leave a comment or ask a question!