Tag: Transcription

We want you to produce an accurate and readable transcript.This means do not transcribe verbatim but be accurate. Leave out false starts and non-sense words but transcribe exactly what the speaker says not just the general idea of what they said.

Required Guidelines

Speaker Labeling

Speaker name and colon start each new speaker. If there is a time-stamp it goes before the speech, after the colon. Label speakers with their first and last name the first time they appear. Label them with just the first name after that. If you do not know a speaker’s name use a descriptive name such as “Man 1:”, “Woman 1:”, “Host:”, “Interviewer:”, etc. Do not use “Male:”, “Female:” or non-descriptive labels such as “Speaker 1:”.

Only re-label the speaker when the speaker changes or after a block non-verbal (A non-verbal that has a blank line above it and below it).

Example

Jerry Coleman: This is the beginning of the transcription so I am labeled with my full name.

John Gale: Right, but after the first time you will be labeled with only your first name right? Jerry: Correct. As you can see I am labeled with just my first name now and will be labeled the same throughout the transcript.Man 1: Hi, I’m a new speaker and no one ever mentions my name so the transcriber should simply give me a descriptive name. In this case the only information that can be gathered on me is that I’m male so I’m “Man 1:”John: Ah, cool.

Formatting

The rules are simple but important. Thanks for your attention.

• Speaker name and colon start each new speaker.
• Put a blank line between speakers.
• Put a blank line between paragraphs of the same speaker.
• Do NOT use new lines to format the lines of text. Use word wrap. If your transcript looks all disfigured when you paste them, you did not use word wrap and you need to fix the transcript before you submit.

Special Tags

[xx]

Mark unintelligible and inaudible words and phrases with “[xx]”. Marking parts with “[xx]” will only hurt your grade if the grader can understand what was said where the “[xx]” is. But inaccurately transcribing the section instead of marking as “[xx]” will hurt your grade much worst then an semi-audible part marked with it.

Note: Editors must remove all “[xx]” tags from the transcript. If they cannot figure out what is said they must mark it as [indecipherable] or [unintelligible].

Example

John: I was going out to the [xx] and a pack of buffalo were on the opposite hillside.

[sp]

Use “[sp]” if you are unsure of a term or names spelling. You should not mark any words that can easily be looked up with [sp] and remember to always use spell check on your transcript before you submit it.

Note: Editors must remove all “[sp]” tags after double checking and researching (if necessary) the term/name.

Example

Wichita [sp] to see an old friend.

[?]

If you are pretty sure of what was said but not completely sure you should mark it with “[?]” this will tell an editor that they should closely review the section of text that it comes after.

Note: Editors must remove all “[?]” tags after they have reviewed and correct the text that the tag marked.

Example

White: I went out to a baseball game [?] at midnight.

Non-verbals

Anything that occurs on the recording but isn’t represented by what is said should be marked in brackets.

Everything in brackets should be lower-case unless it is a proper noun.

Examples

• [bell ringing] (or other description)
• [laughter] (or other description)
• [musical interlude]
• [radio break]
• [song]
• [song: Happy Birthday by John Petersman]
• Host: [1:45] I went out to Wichita. (If requested)

Preferred Guidelines (Follow these to get a high grade)

Consistency

Spell things the same way each time, even if it’s incorrect. It’s easier for an edit to correct 1 mistake repeated nine times then nine unique mistakes.

Cleanup the Transcript (But don’t Paraphrase!)

Don’t Transcribe Filler Words

This means that you should “translate” speech into writing by leaving out filler words like “um”, “uh”, “like”, and “kind of”, while still keeping the personality and meaning of the original utterance.

If the filler words contribute to the meaning and tone of the speaker, leave them there. But in almost all cases, they are a distraction in written language and should be left out.

Clean up Verbal Stumbling but Retain the Speaker’s Tone

It’s OK to occasionally clean up grammar but the transcript must be an accurate representation of what was said.

Start Each Line with a Capital Letter

Use proper punctuation. This means periods, commas, capitalization of proper nouns, everything just like your English teacher taught you.

Spell Out One through Nine but use Numerals over Nine

So use nine not 9. But if the number is over nine use numerals such as 10.

Use “…” to mark a break

Such as a speaker breaking off mid-sentence, starting mid-sentence. If the audio cuts off mark it as [cuts off] (see non-verbals).

Don’t Transcribe Radio Commercial Breaks

There is no need to transcribe radio commercial breaks unless specifically requested; simply mark the break as [radio break].

Use written form for URLs and spelled-out names

Even if the speaker spells out the name for clarity use the written version.

Examples

John Smith, that’s S-M-I-T-H.”
“Go to futuregen.sg” not “Go to F-U-T-U-R-E-G-E-N dot S-G”

Use Word Wrap!

Do not break lines at 80 columns; just keep typing and allow the software to do the line wraps. Separate paragraphs with a blank line, not with a tab. If you are not using word wrap the transcript will become broken and awkward when you shrink the window instead of nicely adjusting to the new size.

Have Short Paragraphs

Keeping paragraphs down to 500 characters or 4 or 5 lines is ideal. Sometimes this can’t be done, but monster paragraphs will affect scores, as they affect readability.

Transcribe according to the template.

Each client will have different format rules. Follow the template that will be included in the assignment. Follow the file naming convention. If in doubt, ask!

Spelling

Editors: check the spelling of proper names against resources such as the podcast’s website.

Preferred Spellings

Incorrect	Correct
Okay	OK
alright	all right
Email/e-mail

Here are things you can do to increase the accuracy of the transcription for your recordings:

1. Reduce ambient room noise
    The quieter the room is, the better it will be for the recording. As transcriptionists rely solely on the sounds that we hear, background noises such as cars passing by, sounds of paper rustling, sounds of doors opening and closing, even the sound of the PA system all contribute to a higher noise level– and reduce the accuracy of the transcription

2. Use more than one recorder
    If you are recording for a group of people, centering the recording device around them will only ensure the accuracy of the people near the recording device. The voices or sounds made by the people farther away are more than likely going to be faint. Transcriptionists are less likely to be able to transcribe these. One solution is to place more recording devices.  Transcriptionists can use the recordings from these other devices to check on the accuracy of the transcribe documents.

3. Encode with higher bit rates
    Once the recorder captures the audio, you will need to digitize it for uploading to our servers. The preferred format is either in wma, mp3 or wav– in that order. The preferred settings are 96kb for the bit rate, and 44khz for the sampling rate. The higher the bit rate, and the higher the sampling rate, the more higher the clarity of the voice recordings, and collaterally, the higher the accuracy of the transcription.

4. Provide notes of the event
    The words of interests like speakers’ names, events, places, and even powerpoint slides during the meeting are all materials that can help us transcribe more accurately. So if you have them, be prepared to send keep a copy to us.