Find ‘transcription service or similar terms on Google and you will see hundreds of results. Even when you reduce it to a few results to search for specific services like ‘interview transcription or conference transcription’ it leads to a wide range of websites. What should customers look for? interview transcription services
There are numerous aspects to take into consideration when deciding whether an organization is suitable. The price alone shouldn’t be the sole factor in the decision you make. The answers of a transcription firm to a range of questions will reveal those with professional methods. Each issue is addressed in greater detail in the following sections. the questions can be summarized as:
Are they able to find enough transcribers? * Who performs the transcribing?
* Is the music listened to more than once?
* How long will the transcriber devote to research?
* Has the transcript been proofread?
* Do they provide the management of large projects?
All of these should be part of the services provided by transcription firms that are included within the price of their services.
Does the company have sufficient transcribers?
Or , in other words Do they bite off more than they are able to take in? Transcription companies must take note of constraints caused by the sheer number of skilled transcribers available. In many cases, businesses undertake large-scale projects with short turnaround time and not ensure the right number of transcribers are on hand. The result is that clients receive urgent transcripts, which are completed by numerous outsourcing transcribers. A small amount of time has been spent to reduce the number of queries, and proofreading could not even be available. Sometimes, the quantity of documents that transcription companies work on implies that not all the information within the project has been inspected by a supervisory person. Transcribers should not compromise quality by undertaking more transcription than they can manage to handle.
Who performs the transcription?
Only transcribers with years of experience should be employed. The task of transcribing is not the best job for an audiotypist who has a couple of years’ experience working in an office. The transcriber should possess excellent vocabulary and grammar skills. They should also have outstanding accuracy and ability to proofread as well as, most importantly of all be able to “think and see inconsistencies within speech, recognize mistakes in context, and be comfortable in different dialects, accents and be able interpret vocal inflections without altering the meaning or voice style.
An additional question to consider is whether the transcription is outsourced, and if it is, how do you get it? Does the quality of the transcriber outsourced sufficient quality to offer the services you require? It’s a controversial subject, but if the recording is made in English We believe the transcriber’s native language should be English. When the audio recording was Chinese then the transcriber’s primary language should be Chinese or Chinese, etc. For instance, customers from the UK must consider what the quality of transcripts supplied by overseas agencies could never match the same excellent quality offered by English people. There may be issues in the accuracy of transcriptions when dealing with difficult accents dialects, slang and other phrases that differ greatly between countries. We’ve received requests from clients to rectify transcripts that were completed in foreign countries as well as some errors could have been disastrous like not providing the correct medical details.
Does the audio be listened to twice?
We believe that every recording must be listened to again after the transcript is completed. This doesn’t just mean repeating the listening while it’s transcribing to help clarify any unclear parts and also listening to the entire audio from start to finish in relation to the transcript after it’s completed. This is a fantastic method to clarify any doubts and also making sure that the meaning and the meaning of the transcript in its entirety is accurately captured. The incorrect punctuation, or the wrong word stress can alter the meaning completely. And it’s typically only after you’ve listened to the complete sentences that you will be able to understand the meaning of a speaker, and ensure that the sentences are arranged in a correct manner. While listening to snippets of words in a few places that’s what people who type frequently misses certain intonations, and a wrong interpretation may be given to a phrase. Even when there are clear recordings and the transcribers are confident that they’ve got everything right the first time around, we suggest that they go back and listen. Words that were thought to be clear in the first glance through could be perceived differently, especially when viewed in relation to the entire paragraph. This is a trap that many novice transcriptionists fall into frequently. A professional service should recognize this, and will be able to automatically add the extra test for clients and should not charge additional for it.
What amount of time will the transcriber be spending on research?
In the majority of recordings, there may be names, terms or places that won’t be immediately for transcribers to be familiar with. Every service should be prepared to invest additional time making sure that the names and terms are accurate to ensure a minimal number of questions. If a customer provides the keywords or names could be useful to cut down on time spent on checking them, but transcribers must offer this service as part of their service and at no cost. It’s quite easy to verify names, addresses, keywords or even terms on Google. However, transcribers must take note of potential pitfalls of using only one or two Internet sources. As we’re all aware, the accuracy can vary greatly across websites. Every website that is consulted must come proven to be reliable and should be complemented with any reference book that are kept in the transcriptionist’s office at all times. The client should be provided with the transcript and know that all names and the terms used have been verified.
Has the transcript been proofread?
Every transcript must be thoroughly checked for errors following they’ve been handed in. The only method to identify any mistakes or inconsistencies, or spots any areas that don’t fit within the context of. The next question to consider would be: who will proofread the transcript? Each transcript should be reviewed by an eye different other than the transcriber who wrote it. Some transcription companies claim that they proofread their transcripts, but as you read their tiny print, you will see that the proofreading is performed by the transcriber who is outsourced. There is no project manager or supervisory eye has ever even examined their transcripts. If this occurs there are many reasons why mistakes are not noticed, but also any undefined or unclear words aren’t identified. These “inaudibles” could result from the transcriber’s not hearing the correct spelling of a name in a recording, while another transcriber listening to another recording may have spotted it more clear. If there is no supervising mind listening and proofreading the corrections and gaps cannot be filled in – which results in an incomplete and incorrect transcript.
Do they provide project management for large-scale projects?
Every transcription company should offer the management of large projects without additional cost. This allows clients to focus on their work, secure that the transcription of audio will be dealt with. Instead of having to deal with multiple transcriptionists for a huge project, transcription services should manage everything so that the client has only one point of contact for all. When necessary, transcription services must convert audio files to an appropriate transcription format, then distribute the digital audio formats to their transcribers, and make sure the transcripts have been prepared in time to meet deadlines. Many transcribers take on massive assignments, but lack the necessary project management skills to manage the task. This means that transcripts aren’t being checked for proofreading (other than by the external freelance transcriber who type them) and recordings not being checked over again to address any issues. In the end, there’s no one person who is responsible for the entire transcripts. This creates a very inconsistent service.