Transcription Conventions
The more specific you are about your requirements, our transcribers will be able to process your work more easily.
Less time taken = less cost.
To be clear, we have devised three transcription options as house standards for all audio recordings.
- Verbatim
- Smart Verbatim
- Intelligent Verbatim
However, we note that not all clients have the same needs, and therefore your requirements can be tweaked as per your individual specifications. They can be combined with our Qualitative Analysis convention (commonly utilised by universities) or any bespoke practice that suits your needs.
Being specific is key to a clear indication of our fees.
Whilst giving us the information we need to process your transcription should enable our transcribers to produce your transcripts more easily, there are some factors that do have an impact on increasing time spent. These include preferences of:
- Time-stamping
- Line numbering
- Qualitative Analysis convention
In addition, the quality of the recording plays an important part in time taken to transcribe files. We have produced some guidance on recording tips which should help you to minimise this issue.
Standard House Conventions
We have devised the following transcript convention as standard. Please read this carefully and advise us of any alterations to our standard procedure that you wish to make. We are happy to accommodate any transcription format you require, and it is best preferred that this is undertaken whilst transcription is in progress and not as an afterthought as any assignments that require extensive editing (other than outlined below) may incur an additional charge.
Speaker Identification
Interviews will be labelled as
INT: Interviewer
RES: Respondent
If required, participants can be identified by name if they are advised to us or clearly identified within the audio.
Group interviews and small focus groups (where multiple speakers are present) unless each speaker clearly identifies themselves within the recording, will be labelled as:
INT: Interviewer or MOD: Moderator
PAR1: Participant 1
PAR2: Participant 2, and so on
On large focus group recordings, where speakers are not introduced by name, participants can be identified as:
FS1: Female Speaker 1
FS2: Female Speaker 2, and so on
MS1: Male Speaker 1, and so on
You may indicate that no speaker identification is necessary, and in this case a change of speaker will be indicated by simply commencing a new line on a new speaker’s turn.
Queries
There will be occasions where words or phrases are not clear to the transcriber, or we are unsure of the spelling, and these will be placed within square brackets with the corresponding time code, indicating that this requires verification by the client.
Bespoke Specifications
Every organisation and / or their assignment has different criteria whether a PACE (Police and Criminal Evidence) recorded Under Caution Interview or a Pharma Advisory Board meeting with accompanying slide show presentations. We will cater for your needs – just inform us!
Time Coding
The speaking clock on an under caution interview is just as vital as the interview content itself. To this end, we have the latest equipment capable of processing multiple channel recordings and along with our skilled transcribers we can produce transcripts of an exceptional quality.
Obviously not all recordings come with a speaking clock. You can still request time coding on standard audio files which can still be processed easily by our transcription teams.
Presentation Linked
Your transcripts are important to you. This is why we will go one step further if required and transcribe your audio corresponding to the relevant slide being discussed. This can break up what is essentially a very lengthy document ensuring segments are easily located and overall layout and presentation of the document is superb.
Other Requirements
Please do not hesitate to inform us how we can better present your transcript documents to your individual preferences.