+ If the audio is bad.

If the audio is bad or you are having trouble hearing it: STOP and let us know immediately. The sooner you inform us the better. Sometimes we can get access to a different recording or sometimes the client will deem it pointless to transcribe. If we return a transcript with a lot of inaudibles without informing the client, the client may not pay for the transcript.

If the audio is only playing out of one ear, or there is a lot of background noise, you could try to fix that yourself using the guides on this page. If you don't feel capable of doing that, email us so we can help fix the problem.

+ Why we need such extensive FAQs.

It is important that all transcripts look as close to identical as possible, from transcriber to transcriber, since many people may be working on the same project. If transcripts were noticably different from each other this would not look good to the client.

+ Please use the newest version of Microsoft Word.

It is strongly recommended that transcribers use Microsoft Word 2013 or newer. The newest version of Word has a far superior spell check, which is worth the money on its own. Free alternatives to Word/Excel may not keep style or document settings consistent which can create unnecessary work on the proofing end. If you do not own a copy of MS Office there is a free online version available, or Office 365, a low cost monthly subscriptions.

+ What is your transcripts for?

Our clients use your transcripts to write reports for their clients, which in turn will be used to form business plans that could be in the millions of dollars (we have done work for major financial, pharmaceutical, and governmental organizations). They’re important and they’re valuable, and they need to be accurate.

When working on a transcript, try to think what the client would find valuable and useful. We want our transcribers to do more than just put words on a page, but think about what they're doing, and why they're doing it.

+ Why do clients choose FEM?

A few key factors to our success are quality, turnaround, and cost. Our clients have specifically mentioned these points as factors in why they choose to have us do their work.

• Quality: All transcripts for a single project should look like one person transcribed them all, which is why following the FAQs is so important. Inconsistencies could make the client have less faith in our work.
  We also need to offer more than speech-to-text. Voice recognition is rapidly improving and will only improve more and faster with time, and the threat to our business is real. Our value added is the thought and intention that goes into our work, rather than just putting words on a screen. For example: “That was great” in one transcript versus “That was great." (Sarcastic) have two totally different meanings. Only you, the transcriber, knows how something was said, which is why it is important to listen as a transcriber, and not a typist.
• Turnaround: The fact that our turnaround for transcripts is before end of next business day (or sometimes sooner) is the difference between the client doing transcripts for a project or not at all.
• Cost: We keep our cost of transcripts low so that clients will choose transcripts over an onsite notetaker. We also pay our transcribers a premium so that we do not need a large proofing staff to make corrections or clean-up documents, which means we do not have a lot of room for error.

At any one time there is a limited number of people in the office, handling all the backend of our business. Without minimizing the time needed to proof our transcripts, our overhead would increase significantly. Only by diligently following the FAQs can we deliver transcripts at the speed, quality and cost that make our business attractive versus alternatives, while paying our transcribers a premium over other transcription companies. (Check out what other companies pay - usually 40-60 cent/audio minute on the high end.)

+ Why meeting deadlines is vital.

FEM has next business day turn around for our clients, and the same goes for our transcribers. Our clients are on tight schedules and may need to write a report the same day that their last transcript is complete; any delay could severely impact them.

+ What if an emergency comes up?

We understand that life happens and some emergency or illness may make it so you are not be able to finish an assignment on time, or maybe at all. A quick email is all that we need.

Please let us know as soon as possible so that we can reassign the file soon enough to have it completed on time.

+ Two things that are not tolerated.

We understand that mistakes will happen, and that unexpected problems may come up. However, two things that cannot be tolerated:

1. Not completing a transcript by its deadline, without giving us sufficient warning.
   Letting us know at the last minute that you will not be able to complete a transcript is not acceptable. If we do not have time to reassign the file, with enough time for another transcriber to complete it, we could lose a client. With the short deadlines our clients have this may impact their ability to write a report for their client.

2. Returning a transcript with major inaccuracies.
   A transcript that has major omissions, paraphrasing or rewording, and/or frequent inaccuracies, could also lose us a client, or be very costly if we were forced to review all the transcripts in a project.

We need to put a lot of trust in our transcribers. Please, do your best to let us know as soon as possible if something unforeseen comes up, and be conscientious when doing your work; review the FAQs and ask questions if something is unclear. Thank you.

+ Moderator question examples.

And uh...that's great. Did you notice how unseasonably warm it is? Let’s just jump right in on this since we only have about a half hour for this interview. Let’s get into the details. All right, we want to get your opinions on the taste of the pizza and whether you liked it or not. What can you tell me…how did you like the taste of the pizza?

Edited Verbatim should be transcribed as follows:

How did you like the taste of the pizza?

Of course, there are some instances where you would have to leave in what a moderator is asking if it is setting a scenario to the question.

For example if the moderator said:

All right. I want you all to focus in only on the crust of the pizza, not the sauce or the cheese or the toppings. How does it affect the overall taste of the pizza?

Edited Verbatim should be transcribed as follows:

I want you all to focus in only on the crust of the pizza. How does it affect the overall taste of the pizza?

+ If the moderator is very wordy and hard to summarize.

Sometimes the moderator will setup elaborate questions, with back stories and caveats, before asking a question. In these cases editing what the moderator said may make it difficult to understand the respondent's answer.

If it would be difficult to make the moderator's question more succinct, treat it almost as you would a respondent. Remove false starts, stammers, stutters, et cetra, and take out any unnecesary chit chat, but otherwise you can leave the moderator question as is.

+ Respondent names examples.

Audra, thinking about the pizza, what did you like about it?
"I thought it was good." (Audra)

That’s great Audra, thanks for that. How about you Tony, what are your thoughts on the pizza
"It tasted like shoe rubber." (Tony)

Rajesh?
"It wasn’t the worst I’ve ever had." (Rajesh)

The moderator questions are edited. Edited Verbatim should be transcribed as follows:

What did you like about the pizza?
"I thought it was good." (Audra)
"It tasted like shoe rubber." (Tony)
"It wasn’t the worst I’ve ever had." (Rajesh)

+ Introduction example.

Tell me about yourself.
"I'm Jared, I'm 28 and I live in New York. I'm a stock broker. (What do you do for fun?) I like to play water polo. (Do you have any children?) No." (Jared)

+ Concept examples.

CONCEPT B – WOMAN ON BIKE

Moderator Question?
Respondent answer.

CONCEPT P – “The CDC says that one in 25 children…”

Moderator Question?
Respondent answer.

+ If the moderator shows a concept without identifying it.

As above, if a moderator shows something and does not identify what what it is, please include some of the description so that the client can figure out what was being discussed:

CONCEPT – NOT IDENTIFIED – "The CDC says one in 25 children..."

Concepts will sometimes be accompanied by instructions to the group (how to fill out a form, a description of what they're looking at) these are read from a script and do not need to be included in their entirety. You can include the first sentence or two, and then the last sentence. This makes it clear what was being discussed, but saves you keystrokes.

If you're unsure if something should be left out, be on the safe side and include it.

+ Conversational affirmation examples.

Tell me about yourself, whether you are married, have children and what you like to do in your free time.
"My name is Mary and I’m married."

Okay.
"I have three children."

Uh-huh.
"There are two boys and a girl."

All right.
"They are six, five and one."

Okay. And your free time?
"I like to read and go on long walks."

This would be transcribed as:

Tell me about yourself, whether you are married, have children and what you like to do in your free time.
"My name is Mary and I’m married. I have three children. There are two boys and a girl. They are six, five and one. (Freetime?) I like to read and go on long walks."

NOTE: If the moderator is being asked a question and is providing a yes/no answer,that would be included. This is the true for both Edited and Simplified Verbatim.

+ If the moderator specifically mentions the names of the respondents when asking for rankings.

If the moderator said:

Okay, who gave Concept M a 4? I see Bob, Ken, and Leigh.

That should be transcribed as:

Who gave Concept M a 4?
(Bob, Ken, and Leigh rated Concept M as a 4.)

+ If no one audibly answers the moderator.

If no one audibly answers the moderator and the moderator does not say something like, "Three people raised their hands," this should be transcribed as:

How many rated Concept M a 5?
(No audible response given.)

+ If the moderator asks the respondents to arrange the concepts in a certain order.

If the audio was:

How would you order these concepts?
"Okay, I think I'll put B first, and then maybe C, and the next one is F, and fourth I'll put G, and last I'll put C," (Ken)

This would be transcribed as:

How would you order these concepts?
"B, C, F, G, C." (Ken)

We do this to make it easier for the report writer to understand the ranking. Do this only if the respondent did not add any extra information, merely ranked the concepts. For instance if the respondent adds qualifying information like, "Okay, I think I'll put B first, because I liked the duck, and then maybe C..." you would transcribe what they said in its entirety.

+ If more than one respondent agrees/disagrees.

In cases where the respondents are all saying close to the identical response to a question, or if more than one respondents is answering yes/no to a particular question:

How did you like the spiciness of the sauce? Was it too hot for you?
"Yeah, it was very spicy for me."
"I agree."
"Yeah, very spicy."
"It was way too spicy for me. The pepper taste was too strong."

Should be transcribed as:

How did you like the spiciness of the sauce? Was it too hot for you?
"Yeah it was very spicy for me." (Two respondents agreed.)
"It was way too spicy for me. The pepper taste was too strong."

The last response was left in because it was more information than just repeating what the others had said, or agreeing with them. In cases where that is true the response should be written out in full.

+ If a respondent(s) agrees while another person is speaking.

If a respondent interjects with their agreement/disagreement in the middle of another respondent’s comment you would transcribe this as a separate comment and then continue with the other respondent’s comment:

“I really like the pizza sauce. It wasn’t too spicy...” (Mike)
“Yeah, it wasn’t too spicy.” (Jamal)
“...it had just the right amount of flavor.” (Mike)

If the group does the same thing, agreeing, disagreeing, et cetra, while a person is speaking, and you you are not sure of the exact number of respondents:

Audio:

“I really like the pizza sauce. It wasn’t too spicy...” (Mike)
“Yeah, it wasn’t too spicy.” (Jamal)
"Yeah."
"Yep."
“...it had just the right amount of flavor.” (Mike)

“I really like the pizza sauce. It wasn’t too spicy...” (Mike)
"Yeah." (Several respondents agreed.)
“...it had just the right amount of flavor.” (Mike)

+ Nonverbal response example.

If the audio was:

Which pizza did you like more?
I really like this one more than the other one.

You preferred Pizza 1 versus Pizza 4. Why did you like Pizza 1 more?

This would be transcribed as:

Which pizza did you like more?
I really like this one more (Pizza 1) than the other one (Pizza 4). (Audra)

Why did you like Pizza 1 more?

+ If moderators converse with each other.

If the moderators are having a conversation with each other and it is not relevant to the discussion this can be omitted.

However, if the information is relevant to the discussion, you would distinguish them as below:

First moderator speaks. (M1)
Second moderator speaks. (M2)
First moderator again. (M1)

+ Everything in the transcript should match the order it happened in the audio.

DO NOT change the sequence of the conversation of the interview or FG. The transcript should be in chronological order.

Concepts provided by the client will be included in the template; if they appear in a different order than in the audio change the the order in your transcript to match. Under each concept a questions is usually included to make it clear when the conversation has moved on. If the question from the moderator is different, remove the sample question.

If a concept included in the template is not mentioned in the discussion it should be removed from the transcript, along with any additional directions for the transcriber.

+ Interviews versus focus groups.

In interviews the respondent should not be in quotes, and you do not need to indicate their name at the end of their response, since only one person is speaking.

+ General formatting.

Generally a word document should be in 12 point Arial, single spaced, with 0 pt paragraph spacing. If the client requests a different format the template will be set up accordingly.

+ Header/footer.

Completing transcript includes correctly filling in the header and footer information. If your audio file name did not contain this information or you did not receive it, please let us know and we will send it to you if available. The project name should be included in the Word template, or at least will be part of the template file name.

The header at the top of the transcript should be in all caps, bolded, and tabbed over to line up:

PROJECT:       PROJECT HEALTH FOODS
SEGMENT:     GROUP 2
DATE/TIME:  JULY 1, 2017 5:00 PM
LOCATION:    ATLANTA, GA

The segment should be changed to "GROUP" if there are multiple respondents, or to "INTERVIEW WITH" and the respondent's name if there is only one respondent. The information should be in all caps and tabbed over to line up.

+ Ending a transcript

Once the moderator says "Thank you for your time today..." you have reached the end of your transcript. You do not need to include any pleasantries the moderator may say as the group leaves, this can be indicated with Thank you.... We include Thank you... at the end of the transcript to indicate to the client that the group/interview wrapped up as it should. Without this there could be doubt if the transcript was complete.

If the audio ends abruptly, for instance if the recording was shut off early, instead put:

(Audio ends abruptly.)

You do not need to include a timestamp with the time the audio ended.

+ Renaming your transcript.

File Name: Transcripts should be renamed and saved using the following format:

project_date_time_segment_city.docx

The document in the header/footer section would be saved as:

Health Foods_7-1_500pm_Group2_Atlanta.docx

You do not need to manually include the file extension, when saving make sure that the transcript is saving as a Microsoft Word document.

+ Contradictions with the rest of the FAQ

The directions in this sections apply specifically to transcripts in Excel. When doing Excel, if there are contradictions with other sections of the guide, follow the instructions in this section first and foremost. If you are typing in Word, you should follow the directions in the rest of this guide.

Properly formatting Excel transcripts is of the the utmost importance to ensure that they are useful and coherent. If you have any questions about how something should be done, ask us right away.

+ Working with the Excel template.

In theory Excel transcripts will stick closely to the client's guide. When a question is asked, jump up or down to that cell, and place the respondent's answer in the B column. Because the moderators usually do not follow their guide in the exact order, review the template to see what questions may come up so it is clear when to move to a different cell. Sections will be color coded to make it easier to see when the discussion has moved on, or what questions may come next. If the moderator jumps back and forth between two questions it may break up the flow of the conversation and be confusing, in this case leave that block of conversation in the first cell you started in.

+ Probing questions.

If the moderator asks a probing question that does not correspond with a question in A column, place the question in brackets in the same cell that you are currently typing in. In an Excel document we want to keep the moderator's probing questions as succinct as possible, without over editing them. Probing questions like; why, what else, anything else, or similar questions can be left out if the response makes sense without it.

Note:If the moderator is asking a questions that seems like it should be included in the template, see the section below.

Only moderator questions should be placed in brackets. Time stamps, noises or other things that would be noted inside of parenthesis, for example; (laughs), (?), (sarcasm), (inaudible), and others should be placed in parenthesis.

If the column A question has multiple questions you can indicate with a word or two which question is being answered. If there is only one question in the A column, and the question was only slight rephrased, you do not need to include anything in brackets. If the question was different enough that the meaning of the answer would change then include the reworded question. This is a judgement call on your part.

If the audio was:

Would you want to make any changed to improve this concept?
"I would make the text bold and larger, it's hard to read." (Laughs)

And was there anything that you found confusing about this concept?
"No, it was very clear."

Is there anything else you want to add before moving on?
"No, that covers it. "

In Excel the transcript would look like:

+ Rating questions.

Usually there will be questions that have a number rating (Rate on a scale 1-7) or has the respondent pick from a list (Good, Neutral, Bad). These questions are usually bolded, and may be used by the client to sort and analyze the data, and any extra text will prevent this from working.

If these cells have a question below them for probes such, "Why that rating?" or something similar, place only the number in the cell, and anything extra the respondent says below it. If the respondent says two numbers, "3 or 4," then put the average in the rating cell, 3.5.

If the audio was:

Now doctor, I want to get your feedback on the effectiveness of the concept you just reviewed. If you were to rate this on a scale of 1-7, with 7 being very effective, how would you rate Concept A?
"I'd give it a 6 or a 7, it was the best concept so far."

Any particular reason your rating was so high?
"I really liked the support text."

The transcript would look like:

+ Questions that are not asked.

If a cell/question is not used, simply leave the cell blank; you do not need to type "N/A".

+ Something is being discussed that seems like it should be in the template.

Something you should be on the watch for; fairly regularly clients will change their discussion guide in the middle of a project without informing us. If something seems to be missing from the transcript, such as a concept letter, or there is any other issue, let us know right away! Multiple people may be working on the same project at the same time. If we can fix the template quickly they may not need to make changes to their document, or we may not need to fix returned transcripts, which can be greatly time consuming. We rely heavily on our transcribers to inform us of any changes that need to be made to the template.

+ Do not alter the template.

The template for Excel, unlike Word, should NOT be altered. ONLY the cells next to questions should have anything typed in them. Do not add/delete questions, or rearrange/reword questions. The specific location and order of the cells is vital for all transcripts to line up with each other. When working on Excel redownload the template each time in case any changes were made.

+ Proofing Excel.

Excel does not have a good spellcheck. To proof an Excel document, select the cell in the answer column that corresponds to the last question in the template, scroll to the top of the document, hold shift and click on the top cell. Copy the selection, paste it into a blank Word document. Now proofread as you would a regular Word document. When you’re done select all (ctrl + A), copy, and paste back into your Excel document.

When you’re done with your document make sure the text is wrapped and review the Excel document to make sure that everything lines up properly and nothing was missed.

+ Header.

There are cells at the top of the template that may include Date/Time, Specialty, Years In Practice, et cetra. These should be treated the same as the header in Word. If the information is available, include it here. If not ask and we will provide it, if we have it.

+ File name.

Follow the same format as Word when renaming your Excel transcript.

+ Compound Words

Some compound words that are commonly and mistakenly spaced apart are:

• commonplace
• healthcare
• marketplace
• newspaper
• somebody
• supermarket
• takeoff
• yourself
• outweigh
• standalone
• twofold
• nowhere
• lifelong
• straightforward

When in doubt, just put the two words together. Spellcheck will reaffirm whether or not it is a compound word.

+ Numbers

• Numbers ten and under need to be spelled out whereas 11 and up do not need to be. Also, a number that starts a sentence should be spelled out. An exception to this rule would be if referring to “Grade 3” or “Algebra 2”.
• Measurements of any sort should be numerals. Liksewise any units should be transcribed as their symbol. For example: kg, mL, and g. "Five kilograms," should be transcribed as 5 kg. "Five by seven feet," should be 5x7". Include units if the respondent leaves them out and you are confident what units should be used. If mod ask:

> Do you prefer 2mg or 10 mg?

"Two is just as good as ten."

Should be: "2 mg is just as good as 10 mg."
Time should be written with numbers, lowercase, with periods – not spelled out. (Ex: 10:00 p.m.)

• Percent should be % instead of spelled out. (Ex: 30%.)
• Decimals should always start with a zero. "Point 7." Should be written as "0.7".
• Numbers in the thousands, forty-thousand, can be written as 40k.
• Dollar amounts should include the cents. (Ex. $2.00) If the dollar amount is very large, like five million dollars, it should be written as $5 million.
• Fractions should be spelled out. (Ex: Three and a half.)
• Cents should be written out. (Ex: 50 cents.)
• The word “Number” should be spelled out instead of the # symbol being used.

+ Published works: book, movies, magazines, et cetra.

If a book, magazine, movie, or other published work is mentioned, these should be in italics. For example:

I really love Titanic, the music really reminds me of my favorite novel, Twilight.

+ Non-famous people's names.

If it is the first or last name of a non-famous person, like an average person's relative, choose a spelling that makes sense to you and use that same spelling through the rest of your document; you do not need to time stamp this. We will not be able to figure out the proper spelling any more than you can.

For example:

“I went over to Antoinne's (?) house after dinner.”

+ Famous/notable people/places/things.

If the proper noun or name is a famous person or place and you have exhausted your search on Google for the correct spelling, mark the name you're unsure of like so: (? 0:18:53.2).

You should ALWAYS do your best to search for any terms that you are not familiar with, if you can clearly hear it.

“I went over to Antoinne's (?) house after dinner.”

In the above example if the respondent mentioned the NBA, you could safely infer they were referring to Antawn Jamison, the NBA player. The correct spelling of his name could/should be confirmed with Google. The same goes for any other proper names for countries, companies, or products.

Some names seem to have an obvious spelling, however for example it's not Captain Crunch and Fruit Loops, it's Cap'n Crunch and Froot Loops. Some websites or companies may have lower case first letters, like eBay. If you have even a small amount of doubt, double check your spellings.

If you cannot find the correct spelling, use a consistent spelling throught the transcript, in the event that the client knows the correct spelling, they can easily find/replace that word. If the same word is repeatedly used by the respondent or the moderator only the first instance needs to have a timestamp, "(? 0:18:53.2)".

+ Generic vs name brand drugs

Generic drugs are not capitalized, only the brand names are.

+ Double Spaces

FEM Transcription Services, Inc. prefers one space after periods and colons within the transcript body. You can set up word to do this automatically under “Tools” and “Options”.

+ Contractions

Contracted words should be transcribed as spoken and not expanded.

+ Run On Sentences

Oftentimes, the subject will speak in long, run-on sentences which seem to have no end. But looking for words such as "so", “and”, or “but” in a sentence is often an indication of a new thought and thus can be made into a new sentence.

Sometimes it helps to say the sentence out loud. You will hear yourself changing thought or pausing where a new sentence would begin.

+ Overly Long Responses

Respondent’s answers should be continuous unless otherwise noted; do not break them up into paragraphs.

+ Quotation Marks

When using quotations (""), please observe the following: Only use quotes if respondent is quoting someone or a conversation verbatim and is not just restating.

Often a subject will quote someone.

For example:

"So I was talking to Bob and I told him, "Look, get out of the room," but he wouldn't listen. He said "Forget you, I'm staying." I don't know what happened after that."

Please note that the punctuation is enclosed within the last quotation mark. In this example, the comma after room is before the closing quotation.

No quotes:

“So I was talking to Bob and I told him to get out of that room but he wouldn't listen. He said he was staying. I don't know what happened after that.”

If the respondent is paraphrasing something, no quotes.

"I saw it say one in 25 children are obese in America."

If they are actually rereading the info, or quoting verbatim, then quotes.

"I saw it say, “The CDC says that one in 25 children are obese in America.”"

+ Word whisker example.

Respondents can use many phrases as word whiskers. For this example we will just focus on, "You know".

It is important to place commas before and after the phrase "you know" when it is used as a speech mannerism (which it most often is.) Without the commas, it is possible to misread the statement as referring to the pronoun "you."

"I told John, you know, it was a great show."

Here it is clear that, "you know" is a word whisker, similar to "Uhm". The meaning is: "I told John that is was a great show."

Without treating, "you know" as a word whisker:

"I told John, you know it was a great show."

Can be interpreted as: "I told John you are aware that is was a great show."

Since in most circumstances with regards to transcripts, "you know" is being used as a manner of speech generally we would just omit it. Also, you will find that, “you know," is often said rapidly and as "ya know". In these circumstances, it is acceptable to still put “you know".

+ Stammer example

If the person being transcribed literally said:

"You know, I’d like uhm…I’d like to go to the-the store with you uhm…sometime like uhm…next week."

You should transcribe the above sentence as:

"You know, I’d like to go to the store with you sometime next week."

+ Exception.

If a respondent uses the word “uhm” showing they’re hesitant or not completely committed to a choice, and you feel that is useful information to the client, you can choose to leave it in. This should be a rare occurance, and not be included when the respondent is just pausing to think about what to say.

“Uhm…I guess I like the blue package.”

+ False start example.

The sentence:

“I went to the store and…yesterday I went to the store with my friend Murray.”

Would be transcribed as:

“Yesterday, I went to the store with my friend Murray.”

+ Incomplete thought example.

“Yesterday, I went to the store with my friend Murray to shop for… They had an awesome sale on shoes at PayLess.”

Although she did not finish her thought, the information about who she went shopping with is relevant to what she said and should be included in the transcript.

An incomplete thought ends in an ellipse and a space, followed by the respondent's next sentence.

+ Note on ellipsis.

An ellipse should not be used whenever a person pauses for a longer than usual amount of time. Only use an ellipse for broken or incomplete thoughts.

+ Side conversation example.

Audio:

"I don't really like that model of phone, they seem cheap to me." (Kim)

"I agree, the build quality is really lacking." (Tom)

"By the way, I noticed your jersey. Are you heading down to the arena for the game later?" (Kim)

"Yeah, my brother got us great seats." (Tom)

What is your thought on this model of phone?

"That's much better, I like the bezel." (Tom)

How it should be transcribed:

"I don't really like that model of phone, they seem cheap to me." (Kim)

"I agree, the build quality is really lacking." (Tom)

(Side conversation.)

What is your thought on this model of phone?

"That's much better, I like the bezel." (Tom)

+ Crew talk example.

Audio:

"That's why I support this charity."

That's really great. Can we get you to move over a little bit for the shot?

"You want me to stand here?"

A little to your left, perfect. Now, what has this charity done for your community?

"It's contributed immensely."

How it should be transcribed:

"That's why I support this charity."

(Crew talk.)

What has this charity done for your community?

"It's contributed immensely."

+ When laughter can be ommited.

Sometimes laughter is conversational or nervous, if we indicated this each time it would take away from the flow of the conversation. Only indicate laughter if it is in direct relation to the concept or the research being done.

Basically, only add (laughs)/(laughter) if the meaning would be lost without it. In the example above without (Laughter) the client would not know that the group thought the concept was funny. If the respondent made a joke that doesn't relate to the topic of the discussion this does not need to be noted.

+ Sounds that can be omitted.

It is not necessary to transcribe “coughs”, “police sirens” or any sounds not pertinent to the discussion. If a cough or siren caused an inaudible portion, refer to Talking at Once, but a description of the cause is not necessary. However, if there was someone continually coughing throughout the whole session, sirens or other noices that interfered, please note it in your email. We will let the client know the cause when we send the transcripts.

+ Examples.

"cuz" or "‘cause" should be because. (Remember ‘cause’ can sometimes be the noun as in cause and effect. In this case, it remains cause.)

“coulda” should be “could have”

“wanna” should be “want to”

“wouldya” should be “would you”

“we be” should be “we are”

"should/could of" should be "should/could have"

"ain't" should be "isn't"

"gonna" should be "going to"

okay should be fully spelled out, not just: "ok" or "Ok"

+ Example - When Not To Note

Audio:

"Reading that really aleved my worry."

The respondent obviously means alleviated and merely misspoke. A minor correction like this does not necesarily need to be noted.

Transcript:

"Reading that really alleviated my worry."

+ Example - (sic)

Audio on pain killers:

When you give your patients pain medication you usually prescribe Marcaine?

"Yes, I give them Marcaine. I prefer it because it works based on financial ablation."

"Financial ablation" is bizarre phrase and doesn't make sense in context. It's also not clear what the respondent meant by this.

Transcript:

When you give your patients pain medication you usually prescribe Marcaine?

"Yes, I give them Marcaine. I prefer it because it works based on financial ablation (sic 0:21:56.3)."

+ Example - (recte)

Audio on pain killers:

When you give your patients pain medication you usually prescribe Marcaine?

"Yes, I give them mercaptan."

Mercaptan is obviously wrong, and if you look up the definition it does not make any sense in the context.

Transcript:

When you give your patients pain medication you usually prescribe Marcaine?

"Yes, I give them Marcaine (recte 0:21:56.3)."

+ How to format time stamps.

Place two time stamps per page at about 1/3 and 2/3 the height of the page; this is a general guideline and does not need to be precise. Time stamps should be inserted AFTER a respondent’s answer.

For example:

What do you think of the pizza?
I like it.

0:04:01.4

What was your favorite topping?

+ How to time stamp in Express Scribe.

1. Open Express scribe
2. Click on Control
3. Click hot key setup
4. Select the Add box
5. A pop up will appear on the screen, do not cancel it
6. Type/Press Control G (You can set the hotkey to anything you wish, this is only a suggestion.)
7. A drop down menu should appear
8. Select/click on Copy Time (Note – make sure you select Copy Time and NOT System Time)
9. Click Ok
10. Click Ok

This should set your hot key to time stamp your document.

When typing you just hit Control G (or whatever hotkey you chose), then Control V (paste). This will insert the time stamp. You need to return before and after the time stamp.

Time stamps are NOT bolded or in parenthesis.

+ Why we timestamp.

Time stamping is requested so the client can find portions of the audio corresponding to parts of the transcript, and isolate audio/video clips for presentations. This shows the importance of accuracy in our transcripts, whether they are time stamped or not.

If the client finds the quote they were looking for does not match the audio, that it was rephrased or inaccurate, it would undermine their trust in our services. In the past whole projects have had to be reviewed because one transcript had enough problems to make the client doubt our work. We do not want that to happen.

+ Basic checklist.

This is not meant to cover everything that should be checked, but in general you should do the following while proofing your transcript.

• Confirm the header and footer match and are correct.
• Recheck the spelling on the document. File>Options>Proofing>Recheck Document, run spellcheck again.
• Review any (inaudible)s, or (?)s.
• Read over the document for mistakes that spell check won't catch.
• Delete any directions and unused concepts/questions.
• Rename the document.

+ When sending a transcript back.

Please put project name in subject line. When we get 50 transcripts back – it makes life easier to see at a glance where to find certain projects.

Include audio you will bill for, in minutes, in the email, as well as anything the proofreader and/or client should know, such as reasons for inaudible (if the call had a bad connection for instance) or a mispronunciation of certain words.

+ Why we ask you to do this.

We cannot bill based on the length of the file. In the past we have gotten files with hours of silence after the discussion was completed. We would have to listen to each file to know how many minutes we should bill for. Therefore, what you bill us for is what we put on the invoices to our clients.

Some of our clients know exactly how long each file is and will not be willing to pay for more. We rely on our transcribers' accuracy and honesty to make sure our clients do not think they are being unfairly billed.

+ What not to bill for.

If there are long silences before the audio begins, say 5 minutes and up, you should not bill for this as you could easily fast forward to the start of the audio; the client may not be willing to pay for that time. If you have to listen to chitchat to determine when the real conversation starts, you should bill for that time.

If the interview ends but the audio continues blank for another 15 minutes, you do not charge for dead time, only bill for the time up to the point where the interview or the focus group is completed.

+ IMPORTANT: Always uses these exact formats.

Whether you cannot hear the word, or are just unsure of what was said, you should only ever use (inaudible) (sp?) (?) or (audio glitch), and the time, since we search the documents for these phrases. If those phrases are not used it may be hard to locate any timestamps and they could be missed by the proofreader.

Please do not use any special formatting (bold, italics, color, and so on) since this takes time to remove when proofreading.

+ Check all your inaudibles/(?) before returning your transcript.

Before returning your transcript, go back and listen to anything you may have time stamped to see if you can get it. This is a part of proofreading your document.

• Don't just listen to the word, but think of the context; don't put in a word that would be nonsense in the sentence.
• Pay attention to what is said in the sentences close to the inaudible; if you're having trouble with a bit of jargon it may come up again and be easier to understand.
• Listen for any clear syllables or strong consonant/vowel sounds which may help you figure out what to search for.
• If a respondent has a thick accent, try repeating what you hear aloud to see if that helps if click.
• DO NOT guess at what was said, but a little intuition may give you 99% confidence of what was said. If you still have doubts, write what you think was said, leave the timestamp, and mark it with a (?)

+ Lots of inaudibles.

If you are getting an inaudibles every five minutes or so, stop! Try skipping ahead and see if the audio improves; sometimes the first few minutes may be loud as people settle in and things are shuffled on the table. If you've given the audio your best shot, and fixing the background noise or other audio processes has not helped, please email us so we can try to fix the audio or give you a different file.

Proofing a file with +100 inaudibles is very time consuming and if there are too many inaudibles the client may not want to pay for the transcript.

+ Why this is important.

If words or phrases that you could not discern are simply left out, and the client finds that word/phrase was omitted, they will doubt the accuracy of the transcript and by extension all our work. Please be conscientious in marking words or phrases that you cannot discern.

+ What not to timestamp.

While it is important to not leave out inaudibles, you do not need to mark each time someone coughs or clears their throat or stammers. This should only be used to indicate words or phrases that you cannot clearly hear.

Likewise, the timestamps are there so the proofreader can listen to the problem and try to catch what was said. If the audio cuts out, like if there was a poor connection and there is a moment of pure static or silence, you do not need to time stamp it, since we will not be able to hear that when proofreading. Mark it as (audio glitch) so the client knows it was an issue with the file/connection/recording equipment and not you, the transcriber.

+ Why this is important.

If words or phrases that you could not discern are simply left out, and the client finds that word/phrase was omitted, they will doubt the accuracy of the transcript and by extension all our work. Please be conscientious in marking words or phrases that you cannot discern.

+ What not to timestamp.

As with inaudibles, while it is important to not leave out instances of talking at once, you do not need to mark every time two or more people speak at the same time, or if another person makes a noise while someone is speaking (coughing, sneezing, grumbling, an exasperated sigh, et cetra). If two people talk at the same time, but you can understand what was said, this does not need to be marked.

(Inaudible – talking at once) should only be used to indicate when the respondents speaking at the same time makes it so what was said could not be understood. Having this in the document mulitple times will also indicate to the client that group being rowdy was the cause of any problems, rather than the transcriber.

+ If the audio is worse after noise reduction.

If the results from Express Scribe's noise reduction are not good (the voices can sound robotic) you can revert back to the original audio file:

1. Right click on the name of the audio file in Express Scribe.
2. Select "Special Audio Process" at the bottom of the menu.
3. Select "Undo (Restore Original Audio)".

+ Advanced noise reduction.

If you feel you're up to it, you can get better results by being a little more hands-on. Follow the guide on this link if you want to remove background noise using Audacity. If you don't have Audacity, read the start of Sound in Only One Ear for how to get it.

+ Should I download/use a free audio file converter?

Probably not.

It's up to you, but we would not recommend downloading free file converters. These programs can be shady and may put your computer at risk. Audacity can convert most audio file types.

+ Important: Make sure to set up autorecovery.

This guide is for PCs. The steps on a Mac may be different.

1. In Word or Excel, click File>Options>Save.
2. Make sure “Save AutoRecover information every:” is checked. Set the time to 1 minute.

This means if Word/Excel crashes you should lose at most a minute of work.

+ How to recover files if Word/Excel crashes.

This guide is for PCs. Mac users, sorry but you’re on your own.

If Word/Excel crashes and you lose some progress, or you accidentally say you didn’t want to save, or open the recovery document, you still might be able to recover your work.

1. In Word or Excel, click File>Options>Save.
2. In the field “AutoRecover File Location” copy the folder path next to it. It should look like: “C:\Users\ComputerName\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word\”
3. Open File Explorer, paste in the path and go. Look for the most recent documents/folders. The temporary files for both Word and Excel will be .asd.
4. After you find the correct .asd, Right click>Open With and choose Word/Excel, whichever you were working in.
5. After opening the recovery file, click File>Save As. Make sure to save your document as a .docx (Word) or .xlsx (Excel) and rename it. Save it to a location that you can find it.

This should have the most recent recovered file. This works best if you've set up autorecovery to be as short as possible. See above.

+ Advice on Express Scribe settings.

Click Options>Playback and then change "Auto backstep on stop (ms)" to 1250.

What this does is every time you pause and then start the audio it will jump back 1.25 seconds. This is very helpful in catching words that are a little hard to catch (just tap play/pause a couple times to back up a short distance) or if you were writing out a long response, the last bit might get a little muddled in your memory.

Adjust this length to whatever works best for you.

+ Okay or OK?

Spell it out please, okay?

+ How do we spell “Mhmmmm” or “Mm-hmm”, or “nuhuh” or “uhuh”?

“Mhmmmm”, “Mm-hmm” or any similar sound of agreement should be written as uh-huh to mean affirmative response.

Any version of “nuhuh” or “uhuh” or sound of negative agreement should be written as uh-uh to mean a negative response.

+ How would you write if someone says, "I x'ed that out," as in they crossed it out?

Write it out as, "I x'ed that out."

+ What do I do if the audio begins, ends abruptly?

If there was a problem with the recording or the file it is important that we let the client know.

Put (Audio begins abruptly.) below the header and before the start of your transcript Example:

PROJECT: PROJECT HEALTH FOODS
SEGMENT: GROUP 2
DATE/TIME: JULY 1, 2017 5:00 PM
LOCATION: ATLANTA, GA

(Audio begins abruptly.)

INTRODUCTIONS

If the audio ends abruptly (for instance, if the recording was shut off early) instead of "Thank you..." end your transcript with (Audio ends abruptly.) If the speaker was cut off mid sentence end their sentence with an ellipse. Example:

CONCLUSION

Anything else you would like to add?
I would like to say that I think...

(Audio ends abruptly.)

+ Do I need to mark the time when the audio ends/begins?

No.

+ How do I transcriber someone shouting?

If the person is shouting or being very emphatic, and you think that is important to include in the transcript, you can put the word they stress in italics.

"I definitely, definitely want that!"

You can also make a note in parenthesis if the emotion/tone is specific: anger, disgust, et cetra.

This should be used rarely, and only if you think it would be important to the client when writing their report.

+ Do we include periods in acronyms? CIA or C.I.A.?

We do not include periods. It should be TV and FBI.

+ If someone mentions a type of money, do we spell it or use the symbol?

If the person is speaking of the currency as a whole, spell it out:

"The Pound is looking weak because of the Brexit."

If they are talking about an amount of money, use the symbol:

"The exchange rate is now $1.00 to €0.90.

+ There are two respondents speaking, but I don't know their names. How do I/should I identify them?

It is not required, because the respondents' voices are not always easy to differentiate. However, if there are a few people speaking who have distinct voice, but you don't know their names, you can identify them as (m) for male or (f) for female, or (female 1) and (female 2).

"I prefer to have a more aggresive approach with my patients." (female 1)
"I agree, you don't want to delay when treating this disease." (female 2)

For large groups, or same gender groups, this isn't useful, but in interviews with a few people you may choose to do this.

+ First grade, or 1st grade?

Generally people do not spell out 'twelfth grade', but instead do 12th grade. If the common convention is to spell something like 1st, 2nd, 3rd grade, go with that spelling.

+ Should I buy a footpedal, headset, fancy keyboard, super computer...?

If you do not have this equipment and you are taking the test, do not purchase it. Prospective transcribers are required to have all the tools necessary for the job prior to consideration.

If you just starting as a transcriber it would be wise to wait and make sure it would be worth the investment.

If you are an established transcriber asking if you need to upgrade, and your current setup is in working order, probably not.

The answer to all circumstances is: probably not.

Computer: You do not need a fancy computer to transcribe, even the lowest powered netbooks or Windows tablets can easily handle everything you would need to do as a transcriber. It is a waste of money to buy a computer if it will only be used to transcribe if your current computer is functioning fine.

If your computer needs replacement it would be prudent to shop around, and ask advice on what is really requireed, as to not buy an unnecessarily powerful computer. To transcribe you only need a moped, don't buy a sports car.

Headphones/Keyboard: Good headphones and a good keyboard can make your job easier and faster. In this case, if you're an established transcriber, it could be worth the invesment. That said, you do not need to spend a large amount on either item to get good quality.

A bad keyboard can contribute to RSI, follow the link for a keyboard suggestion, if you're in the market. It is important to try mulitple keyboards to make sure they fit your hands and are comfortable to use.

Low quality headphones will make it more difficult and slower to complete your work, such as using bargain priced earbuds. Check online for reviews, and make sure they sit comfortably on your head/ears. We advise over-ear headsets in general, but even a $20 pair should be enough to make a substantial upgrade in quality. Use whatever is comfortable, sounds good, and is affordable. You do not need +$100 noise canceling, memory foam, massaging headphones. Don't waste your money.

Footpedal: A footpedal can speed up your typing and lower the strain on your hands. While they're not for everyone, they can be a good investment. Having a footpedal is, however, a lower priority than improving your accuracy, typing proficiency, and familiarizing yourself with our FAQs. If you want to get a footpedal, let us know and we may be able to offer suggestions.

+ Searching for an unfamiliar term.

If the file you had was about diabetes and the moderator says a word that sounds like, "genuvea" you would likely not know exactly what was said. Google (or Bing) can quickly provide the information you need. Pause, take a quick break, and do a search.

A search for "diabetes genuvea" returns the correct name, Januvia. In fact typing in "diabetes medications..." and putting in just the letter J suggests the proper name for the drug. This quick search took less than a minute.

You should do searches to confirm the spelling of anything you are not 100% certain of.

If your Google-fu is weak and several searches have not turned up anything, you can email/call and ask, "I heard something that sounds like genuvea". We may have heard the term you are struggling with.

If you can't find anything and searching is taking too much time, you can phonetically spell out the word and time stamp the location, as seen below.

"I was prescribed genuvea (? 0:50:08.2)."

Be consistent in how you spell that same term so we can do a find/replace. (See: Proper nouns)

It is vital that you take the time to research terms with which you are unfamiliar. Under no circumstances should you simply type something phonetically, or guess, and not time stamp the word. (See: Basic Expectations: Two things that are nto tolerated.)

We have received some transcripts with phrases like, "retarded transformers" and "soap on a Spanish ship". Those phrases make no sense within the context of the document, will not be caught by spell check, and could go on to the client if the proofreader doesn't have eagle eyes. A little care can help to prevent this. Thank you in advance for your attentiveness.