The Transcription Format Selection Process

Audio recordings document every single sound that is verbalized or audible enough. A recording which takes place in a windy location is likely to have distorted sound due to the fluctuating sound of the wind blowing. Similarly recordings document pauses and the natural hesitations people use in normal speech. These types of sounds pose a big question when it comes to the transcription process. What should be transcribed and what is not necessary to include in the transcripts? It is entirely up to the party seeking transcription services to decide what they would like to have included in the transcripts.

There are three basic transcription formats; complete, edited and intelligent verbatim. The complete transcription format includes every sound contained in a recording on the transcripts. Complete transcriptions are ideal for legal documents, qualitative analysis and for legal purposes. The transcripts include audible sounds, such as err, mmh, umm and you know. Identifiable emotions like laughter, sobbing and anger, marked by tremors in speech, are also included in such transcripts. This format takes the longest to complete. It could also be the most expensive transcription service, because of the time extended by the service provider to the process in order to make sure that the end product makes sense.

Edited transcriptions only included the required verbatim on the transcripts. Lectures, speeches and conferences often go for edited transcripts. Verbal words are structural sentences are often the only verbatim included in such transcripts. Several spoken sentences maybe left out of the transcripts, without misconstruing what was said by the speaker. The process takes a considerably long time to complete, but less time compared to the complete transcription process.

The intelligent transcriptions are accurate in nature but leave out habitual verbal sounds such as umm, kinda, like and you know. In essence, the unconscious utterance of such sounds does not add any value to speech but simply act as fillers or pauses. With such as transcription, every other word uttered is documented exactly as it was said. Incomplete sentences are also included on the transcripts as they were said. The format is ideal for interviews and is the fastest process, compared to the intelligent and complete verbatim transcription process.

It is up to you to decide which format is beneficial to you and meets your requirements. Notably, service providers who base their rates according to the transcription format required. Price should, however, not be the sole determining factor when selecting a format.
For more info on verbatim transcription, call us at 773-800-2973.Author:Jessica Smith MillerSource: http://EzineArticles.com