10 MUST-HAVE skills for digital audio
transcriptionists
1. Listening: A
transcriptionist must have a keen ear to decipher what is being
said.
They transcribe single speaker dictation through to
multiple participant recordings. They
transcribe heavy accents and take account of people who speak slowly
and others who speak very fast indeed!
2. Problem solving: There are daily challenges to face if you
pursue a career in transcription. You will need to differentiate
between multiple speakers, decipher mumbled or garbled speech and
deal with a multitude of environmental noises! A
professional transcriptionist will always use tricks of the trade to
get through particularly tricky audio.
Sometimes it might just take a few moments to decipher one or
two words and other times it will require some research to get it
right!
3. Quality control:
Yet another skill you need under your belt. A good
transcriptionist will ensure consistency throughout the finished
transcript and has great attention to detail. They
will be on guard at all times to pick up on any client errors during
dictation such as the use of different dates or names in the middle
of dictation than was used at the start or at the end.
4. English language: A
professional transcriptionist will have an excellent command of the
English language including first class grammatical skills,
punctuation and spelling. This includes the use of
homophones which are words that are pronounced the same that
differ in meaning so, for example, carat and carrot. And they will
also know not to confuse words like effect and affect, their and
there, principle and principal.
5. Time management: You
must be able to juggle projects that run simultaneously and have the
personality to remain calm under pressure as fast turnaround times
and sometimes hourly deadlines are the name of this game!
6. Speed & accuracy: An
obvious skill to have is touch typing and whilst it is really
important to be a fast typist, this is skill is rendered useless
unless you are accurate as well.
7. Industry knowledge: Most
transcriptionists have a particular niche like medical transcription
or legal transcription or they learn the necessary skills to move
into new areas with which they are unfamiliar. This
requires sector-specific knowledge and experience in each sector’s
terminology.
8. Non-disclosure/Discretion:
a high level of confidentiality and discretion
is crucial to ensure the safe keeping and safe disposal of sensitive
data which clients disclose to you as a transcriptionist. All
transcriptionists worth their salt will be happy to sign a client’s
confidentiality agreement or they will provide the client with a
copy of their own.
9. Internet and PC skills: all
round computer skills are required by a professional
transcriptionist as they will communicate with clients via email,
research material via the internet, use a variety of software
packages to type their documents and send transcripts via File
Transfer Protocol (FTP).
10. Specialised software and equipment: An
experienced transcriptionist will use many different transcription
software packages to read the variety of digital file formats used
for transcription purposes such as .wav, .mp3. .wma and .dss
files.
In addition, they will most likely use an in-USB foot pedal
and professional headphones, such as BEYERDYNAMIC DT-770 PRO. They
will also use specialised software to convert files into different
file formats and to rip and splice audio recordings where
necessary.
It can take time, sometimes many years, to
fully develop the true art of professional transcription but
practice makes perfect so these skills can be acquired over
time.
Statistics show over 70% of transcriptionists are home based
so if you would like to work from home this career is the way to
go!
Best Practice for focus group recording (Part
1:
before you start)
Coordinating a focus group can test your
organisational skills ! You must ensure you gather all
the relevant people together at the same date and time and then have
everything synchronised on the day for it to work glitch free! Ensure
you make the most of this valuable session by following some of our
top tips in advance to capture all you need from the participatory
group.
BEFORE THE SESSION:
·
Use professional
equipment: You have gone to great trouble
coordinating all participants to attend so make sure your equipment
is fit for the purpose based on the number of participants.
·
Use external
mics: Built-in mics are not suitable
for recordings with multiple participants. Use one
external mic (preferably omni-directional) to every two
participants.
·
Recording venue is
critical: Choose the best venue to host
your focus group. Rooms with high ceilings can
create an echo and hard wood floors can drown out speakers.
·
Rehearse in advance: Conduct
a trial run in your chosen venue before
the focus group. This provides an opportunity to
test
all equipment and mic positions. Play your test recording,
preferably using headphones. If all participants are easily
heard your transcriptionist will not have any trouble transcribing
your session.
·
Choose your moderator wisely: Be sure
to appoint an experienced moderator to facilitate the
session and chair the group. A good moderator will be
efficient in controlling the discussion, directing questions
appropriately.
·
Brief the participants
in advance: Before the session begins outline
the purpose of conducting the focus group, hand out an agenda
and explain the format it will follow. Give
people an opportunity to question the process before
you start. This will avoid unnecessary
questions getting in the way of valuable participant
contributions!
·
To identify or not to
identify participants: Mostly focus group participants
remain anonymous. If, however, each
participant needs to be identified ask them to say their name or an
assigned reference (A, B, C etc.) every time they contribute, just
before they speak. The moderator can assist with
this by thanking each participant by name or reference after they
speak.
·
Reduce potential interruptions: Ask all
participants to turn off their mobile phones, bleeps and
pagers.
Put a notice on the venue door to say there is a focus group
in progress to stop anyone entering once the session has
started.
·
No refreshments in
session: Ask your catering professionals
to provide refreshments before or after the discussion or
during scheduled breaks that are not
recorded – crockery clinking and munching of biscuits will drown out
your participants!
Best Practice for focus group recording (Part
2:
during the focus group)
Okay, now your valuable and long awaited
focus group is underway, what next? Some top tips to keep things
running effectively and efficiently once you get started.
DURING THE SESSION:
·
Start the ball rolling: People
are often shy to speak up at first. Get the moderator to start with a
very short summary of the purpose of the session and perhaps start
with introductions and an opening question. The
moderator should choose who will answer first and let the session
take its course from there.
·
Get introductions out
of the way first: If your
participants need to be identified ask each person to give a brief
introduction at the beginning of the session. Not
only is this an ice-breaker but it helps the transcriptionist to
familiarise themselves with the different accents etc.
·
Reign in participants where necessary: An
effective moderator will prevent participants over-speaking, getting
side-lined and/or running over time by constantly reminding
participants to speak louder, to repeat what they said if it is not
clear, reiterating the importance of not interrupting someone else
when they are speaking. Questions can be directed
appropriately to adequately control the discussion.
·
Speak rather than nod: Remind
all participants to say “yes” or “no” each time, simply nodding or
shaking their heads may not be so obvious to the
transcriptionist!
·
Minimise background and environmental
noise: Many things can contribute to
background noise during a session. Keep all windows closed to avoid
noise from cars or air traffic overhead and ask participants not to
scribble notes or shuffle papers too close to the mic!
Best Practice for focus group recording (Part
3:
after the focus group)
Your session is now recorded, congratulate
yourself!
The next step is having it professionally transcribed. Follow
some of our further tips for safekeeping and to improve the accuracy
of your finished transcript.
AFTER THE SESSION:
·
Save your recording, transfer to a PC and back
it up: Now you’ve got what you want,
keep it safe! Save the file immediately, upload
it to your PC from the recorder and make a copy of the file on
CD/DVD.
·
Decide on your desired layout: If you
are unsure how your finished transcript should look your
transcription service provider can advise you. Ask
them to send you their standard layout in advance. Decide
on the font, text size, line spacing you desire and give clear
instructions prior to project commencement.
·
Is identification required?: Ensure
your transcription service provider knows whether participants are
to be identified or not and if this is by name or assigned reference
– be specific!
·
Keywords and terminology
clarification: Provide your transcription
service provider with a copy of the session agenda, questions
addressed, a list of keywords and any specific terminology used in
the session. Remember to include a copy of any
physical material shown or handed out to focus group participants
that may be referred to in the audio.
·
Agree your deadline, but be
realistic: Be upfront about when you need
the transcript finished by and agree this in advance.
Recording quality determines how long a file
takes to transcribe. If your audio is clear and
quality is good it will take between 4 to 6 hours
to transcribe one hour of voice recording. Focus
groups or interviews with several participants often take longer
based on other factors that influence the length the process takes
(identifying speakers, speed at which participants talk, accents,
complex terminology, etc.).
·
Circulate the transcript: Once you have the finished
transcript back you may wish to send a copy to each participant to
review what was recorded. If any sections of speech were
incoherent during the recording participants can assist the process
by amending or inserting what they actually said as appropriate.
Why use a transcription service versus
transcribing your own research interviews?
Having researched your topic and conducted
confidential interviews you have every reason to be nervous about
handing over your research material. Transcription of research
material can costly but typing it yourself is very time consuming.
So, what are the pros and cons of doing it
yourself versus using a transcription service provider?
·
Time: Transcribing one-to-one research
interviews takes a very long time if you are not a fast and accurate
typist and particularly if you do not have specialist transcription
equipment. It takes an experienced
transcriptionist approximately 4-5 hours to transcribe a 60 minute
voice recording. I am sure you will agree your
time is best spent elsewhere!
·
Experience: Copy
typing or typing course work is very different to transcribing voice
to text.
Your interviewees will each have different accents and a
faster/slower flow of speech. The transcript will need to read
properly and have the correct use of grammar, punctuation and
spelling.
And then of course there is the accurate use of homophones
which can be a tricky business in itself.
Homophones are words that sound the same but have different
meanings, for example, 1) your and you’re 2) there,
their and they’re 3) hear and here 4) to, too and two. An
experienced transcriptionist has a trained, keen ear and excellent
attention to detail.
·
Word Processing Skills: To
professionally format your transcript you will need a good command
of Microsoft Word and to ensure the format is consistent
throughout. Your course requirements might
specify a certain font or line spacing or you might need each line
of the transcript numbered. A professional service will be
able to provide you with an example of a standard layout and in
addition they will accommodate any particular request you might have
and incorporate this throughout.
·
Proofreading:
Sometimes a fresh eye is required when you have spent hours
and hours listening to and looking at your research interviews. A
professional transcript that looks and reads well will add value you
to your research.
·
Choice of transcript format:
If you transcribe your own research you will
soon realise how often people use phrases such as ‘you know’ or ‘you
know what I mean’ or ‘eh’ or ‘um’. This can be not only frustrating
to listen to but it can add considerable time to the process. By
outsourcing your audio to a transcription service you get to choose
the format of your finished transcript without the pain of doing it
yourself!
Verbatim is every word typed exactly as it is said (including
these phrase e.g., ‘you know’, ‘eh’ , etc.)
Intelligent Verbatim is every word typed exactly as it is
said without these phrases. And the fully edited version
corrects mispronounced words, grammar and slang plus it excludes all
the
‘you know’ type phrases.
·
Confidentiality: You
will of course need to completely trust the transcription service
provider who transcribes your research so do not let handing over
your confidential data to a third party put you off. A
reputable provider will be able to give you a copy of their
confidentiality agreement and their policy around confidential data
or they will be happy to sign your confidentiality agreement if
preferred.
·
Reputation: If you have decided
to pay someone else to transcribe your research then be sure you
choose the provider carefully. The
transcription service provider you choose should be 110%
professional in all dealings with them and have a proven track
record in the industry. They should be willing to provide
you with testimonials or referees to contact should you require same
before booking your project with them.
·
The expense: Cost is
often a real concern when you are trying to work within a budget so
factoring in the outlay for professional transcription is important
to do from the start. Transcribing your one-to-one
interviews yourself might save money but most people find the time
involved doing this is prohibitive. Good quality audio is much
quicker to transcribe and therefore a provider will charge you less
for it.
An experienced service provider will be able to provide you
with recording best practice guidelines to follow before you record
to ensure transcription of your audio is affordable. Staying
within budget is one thing but, remember, going for the cheapest
transcription quote may be counter-productive if it comes back in
such a state that it needs redoing!
Common digital file formats for transcription
of voice to text
Digital recorders allow you to save voice files
in different file formats. What format that is often depends
on the brand or type of recorder you purchase. Some
recorders allow you to save your files as more than one file
format.
To check what format your recorder saves as simply look at
the file extension of your audio file, for example, the three
letters file ending after the dot in your file name (e.g.,
WS30091.wma). Some recorders are ideal for
single speaker dictation (e.g., DS2400) where editing and inserting
comments after you have dictated is important. Others
suit one-to-one interviews or focus group recordings (e.g., DS50)
where they have external mics or where omni-directional mics can be
purchased as an add-on (ME-30W).
Files saved to CD
.cda (Compact Disc audio file)
We have often been sent .cda files by clients
in the first instance.
.cda files are not audio files, they are the
index files on your CD that point to the audio tracks on
it. In order to have the audio transcribed you will need to
remove your audio from your CD. If you are unsure how to do this
follow these steps:
- Insert the CD into your CD/DVD drive and use
the ripping facility in Windows Media Player (WMP) to rip the CD
or a specific track. There are usually two ways to get the
tracks added to your library in WMP. You can add them on
with the CD or you can rip them to your PC as .wma or .mp3 files
and add those files to your library. It is the .wma or .mp3
version of the file that you will need to send your transcription
service. If you ripped the CD by using the rip functionality
in the Rip tab in WMP then the files will already be saved on your
hard drive by default you just need to locate them!
- If you do not have Windows Media Player you
can use a software such Express Rip software available at http://www.nch.com.
Uncompressed audio
format
.wav (or WAVE, short for Waveform Audio
Format): .wav is a very large commonly used file format,
however, this file type takes much longer than most when
transferring/uploading files to a transcription service. It
does, however, produce good quality audio.
Lossless compressed audio
formats
A lossless compressed file format takes
longer to process than an uncompressed file format and it uses space
more efficiently. Lossless compression formats
provide a compression ratio of about 2:1.
.mp3 (MPEG Layer-3): .mp3 files are a compressed file format usually
associated with music files. The benefit of compressed files is in
reduced transfer/upload time when sending it on for
transcription.
.wma (Windows Media Audio):
.wma file format is owned by Microsoft and is
associated with use of Windows Media Player. .wma,
whilst being compressed files, retain their sound quality.
.dss (Digital Speech Standard):
.dss files are an Olympus proprietary format
produced by Olympus recorders. DSS files are said to be 1/12th to 1/20th the
size of conventional WAVE files with no reduction in playback
quality. This is an excellent file format
producing good quality audio.
. ds2 (Digital Speech Standard Pro):
.ds2 files are also an Olympus proprietary
format, as above. This is the newer, high
compression, DSS pro format used by Olympus. Not all
transcription software reads this new file format so check with your
service provider.
.dvf (Digital Voice File): .dvf files are a Sony proprietary format
produced by Sony recorders. Again, this is an excellent file
format producing audio with excellent clarity.
Of course all of the above file formats can be
used for transcription purposes but each varies in audio quality and
file size so bear this in mind when you purchase your digital
recorder.
Setting Up As A Home-Based Transcriptionist – A
Rookie’s Guide
In an ideal world everyone wants to work from
home – no more struggling to find a work/home life balance, no long
commutes to work, no more having to buy separate work clothes. This
home-based business will give you the ability to pick your working
hours and the type of sector you work in. In our
8 simple steps we guide you through what you need to do to set
yourself up as a home-based transcription today to make this ideal a
reality.
To work from home is increasingly popular and
it is a desirable career for those who want a work/home life
balance.
Technological advances make it easy to provide a full range
of support services from the comfort of your home office. One
very popular home-based business is the provision of a digital
transcription service. In fact, differences in time zone
can be very advantageous in this particular field. There
are endless possibilities to acquire clients from another continent
as your location is not an issue. Follow our 8 simple steps to
starting your own home-based transcription service today:
1. Internet service. If you
don’t already have a high speed broadband internet service get one
right away. You will need access to the
internet at all times in order to receive large audio files and so
that you can return completed transcripts. You
will also need it for things like email, fax (if it’s linked to your
pc), FTP and VoIP services.
2. Specialist equipment. To
transcribe from home the essential equipment you will need are a
computer, transcription software, a foot pedal and a decent head
set.
Other ‘nice to haves’ include a fax service, a printer, a
scanner and some analogue tape machines if you plan to offer a
service for mini, micro and standard cassettes.
3. Experience & Niche: If you
are already an experienced transcriptionist then decide on your
niche area. If not, sign up to work as a
freelancer with a reputable company to gain experience in a broad
range of sectors. This allows you to get a feel for
the business and to acquire the necessary skill set crucial to the
profession.
4. Market yourself: Decide
how you will get the word out to your target market and then go for
it.
Do a survey, do mail-shots, send flyers, have a web presence,
write a press release and run lots of promotions to make your
service attractive to potential clients.
5. Customer service: Once you get
some clients give them a reason to return. Make
each one feel special by going the extra mile. Track
your deadlines carefully and always reach them on time or before
schedule.
Offer them a discount on their next file or on any referral
they send your way.
6. Record keeping: At the
get-go devise an organised method for tracking client projects,
incoming files, work in progress, completed transcripts and
invoicing. Don’t let the paperwork build up,
use a systematic approach and don’t deviate from it if it works.
7. Hours of work: Working
from home can mean that work and play have no set boundaries if you
are not careful. It is important to decide on your
working times each day and stick with that. This
puts in place a structure from the beginning to allow time for other
commitments like family and recreation outside of the working
day.
8. Keep your office separate. If
possible set up your office in a room that you can close the door on
at the end of your working day. If your home office is in a
regular family room in the house you will always associate it with
work and therefore it is much harder to switch off or for you to
check your email constantly.
Single speaker dictation for transcription –
choosing a digital recorder
Choosing the right digital recorder can be
confusing at the best of times but choosing a device that
specifically offers features for single speaker dictation is even
more difficult. This article is a breakdown of the
critical key attributes that are ‘must-haves’ in every business
person's portable digital best friend.
Apart from the desire to have a compact
and lightweight digital recorder for portability there are
particular features that are critical when
choosing a device for single speaker dictation. These
key attributes will not only make your life easier but they will aid
transcription by ensuring superior sound quality in every digital
recording. So why is this so important?
You get improved
transcription accuracy every time and you keep transcription costs
down.
Read our top tips below for purchasing a digital recorder for
transcription of single speaker dictation.
High quality sound:
Save files in a high-compression format where possible for
superior clarity and quality. This means costs savings to you
as transcription services charge less for quality audio. Look
for a digital recorder with a voice activated feature, these start to
record as soon as they sense sound thus preserving memory and
battery life of the digital recorder.
File editing: For single speaker dictation it
is paramount to have the ability to insert and overwrite an
existing file. Not all digital recorders allow
you to do this so check the specifications of your digital recorder
carefully before you make a purchase or ask your transcription
service to recommend a product. An editing facility will
also allow you to include dictated notes to your transcriptionist or
to record specific transcription instructions in the
dictation.
Backlit LCD: Choosing a device with a backlit LCD
for easy viewing is a good idea which means you can record in all
types of lighting conditions and you can easily monitor battery
life.
The backlit LCD allows you to see the recording length at a
glance, thereby monitoring costs as your record, as most
transcription services charge clients per minute of recorded
audio.
Memory and battery life:
Check the specifications of your device
before you purchase to ensure a decent memory capacity and long
battery life. The digital recorder will likely
have a built-in memory and/or a removable media such as an SD
card.
Choose 1GB or 2GB for maximum capacity so recording lengthy
files for transcription will no longer be an issue. Can you
choose between recording modes for recording sensitivity, for
example, SP, LP and QP modes? Look for a device that
allows 10-12 hours playback in all modes and 25-30 hours in
SP mode. All features that conserve memory and battery life are
well worth paying a little extra for.
File management: For ease of use
choose a digital recorder that allows you to create a dictation file
and/or erase files and folders at click of a button.
Your transcription service will use
specialised software for transcription purposes, however, if pick
a device with software that supports Windows and Macintosh it will
allow you to listen to or edit the audio on your own pc as
well.
PC Interface: Once you have recorded your dictation
you will need to send it to a transcription service to have it
professionally transcribed. Look for a direct PC link feature
such as a USB 2.0 High-Speed which enables high speed file transfer
to your computer or when sending on for transcription
Academic transcription – research in voice to
text format
Academic transcription is a voice to text
service where a digital file of a voice recording is transcribed to
create a transcript of the speech contained in it. The
transcript is produced in a file format such as Microsoft Word and
is used for record keeping purposes and data analysis.
Academic transcription of recordings such as
single speaker dictation, lectures, seminars, roundtable/group
discussions, dissertation/thesis material or one-to-one interviews
conducted as part of a research project are the most common
recordings transcribed. Recordings such as these are
common place in schools, colleges, ITs and universities and academic
transcription is required by academic staff, researchers, teachers
and students alike be it for research purposes or individual
studies, for example, topical research for a Masters or PhD.
Academic transcription is also incredibly useful to those
with a hearing impairment.
Students often record lectures or seminars to
aid their studies in their chosen subject or they get a digital
recording of it from their peers if they are going to be absent on a
given day. Likewise lecturers may digitally
record their lectures and have them transcribed to use as handouts
for their students.
Academics and students alike often conduct a
series of focus groups for qualitative research purposes to
ascertain opinions of and attitudes to certain topics or
subjects.
Focus groups and interviews form a large proportion of
academic research. Participants in the majority of
focus groups remain anonymous but occasionally it is important to
identify participants within a focus group. Each
person’s valuable contribution in the focus group is transcribed so
that key themes emerge from the discussions which are then used in
data analysis afterwards.
One-to-one interviews and multiple speaker
interviews are key in academic research also. These
help the researcher to gain an insight into people’s perceptions and
beliefs in a given area. Transcripts of interviews, focus
groups and seminars are often distributed to the participants after
the recording takes places as well as being used by the researcher
and their colleagues in further analysis.