Ensuring Efficiency in Research Transcription

by | Last updated Nov 1, 2022 | Published on Jul 31, 2013 | Research Transcription

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Interviews, discussions and other in-class conversations by researchers, students and academicians during the course of their work can be used as a reference material for present and future research. Research transcription is the process of converting these interactions into text format. There are basically two types of research transcription – interview transcription and focus group transcription. The former involves transcribing the conversation between one to three participants and latter often involves large number of interviewees, where the identification of the speakers may not be necessary.

Efficient research transcription services can help the researchers to focus on their core tasks and save precious time in their research material preparation. Here are some tips to follow to ensure accuracy in research transcription:

  • High Quality Recording Device – The accuracy of transcript most often depends on the quality of the audio. If the audio is clear, the transcriptionist will take less time to transcribe the interviews. So it’s important to see that these interactions are recorded on a high quality digital recorder. If you have to record the conversation of large group of people, attach external microphones to recorder for improving sound quality.
  • Accurate Transcription of Specialized Terminology – Academic conversations are typically characterized by local dialects, idioms, field-specific terms and acronyms. When you outsource your research transcription, make sure the company has a team that can handle the work. The transcriptionists should have the proficiency to transcribe subject-specific information accurately into text format. They should also have the ability to deal with lengthy interviews, multiple voices, and regional accents. However, providing acronyms or field-specific jargon to your transcription company would help in enhancing transcript accuracy.  The right firm will also have quality control measures to ensure high levels of transcript accuracy.
  • Data Security and Confidentiality – Research data should stay confidential. Ensure that your transcription service provider has secure modes of file transfer in place such as FTP or browser-based with encryption and passwords to meet your data confidentiality requirements.
  • Affordability – Rates depend on many factors such as required turnaround time, number of persons (one or two speakers or multi-person), length of the interview, meeting, seminar – audio or video. Audio with heavily accented speakers, poor quality audio, and time coding are other factors which determine rates. Fortunately, some professional transcription companies offer special rates for educational institutions, students and academicians.

Find a transcription company that can provide you with efficient, fast and reliable services. Some professional service providers offer discounts for bulk jobs as well as special rates for students, academicians and educational institutions.

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