Quality checking matters: how we ensure best results for academic

Quality checking matters: how we ensure best results for academic interview transcription

Each and every academic interview transcript that we undertake is checked in full by the original transcriptionist.  However, we are incredibly lucky to be able to utilise the experience of our highly skilled Quality Control Team to verify the accuracy of the transcript before it is returned to you, so you can start your analysis in the knowledge that the transcript is good to go.  Our QC team is dedicated to ensuring that every transcript we provide is of the highest quality.  Whether we are checking transcripts completed by our transcription team, or checking AI generated transcripts provided by the client, quality checking a transcript involves several steps to ensure accuracy, consistency, and clarity. Here is a comprehensive list of tasks we perform during the quality check:

Verify accuracy of content

We want to ensure that the spoken word has been captured accurately.  While listening to the original recording, we spot check various points throughout the transcript to ensure that what has been said matches what has been transcribed.

We are specifically looking for:

·         Misheard words

·         Incorrect phrases

·         Missing content

All of these things can severely impact the sense of what has been said, and could lead to the incorrect analysis or coding of themes, opinions and quotes.

Check for Speaker Identification

We also confirm that who said what has also been accurately attributed – this is particularly important for focus group or workshop discussions.  But we have to be honest and say that it is not always possible to identify speakers individually – in which case we will not guess; we will provide a neutral identifier so that someone who was in attendance can update the information.

Correct Punctuation and Grammar:

One of the things we are regularly complemented on is our use of the correct punctuation within a transcript.  It is important to us to ensure that, if the person reading or analysing the text does not have a copy of the recording, they still get a true sense of how something has been said through the appropriate use of punctuation.  If someone has been hesitating over what they are saying, or have a habit of peppering their speech with filler words such as “you know, “like”, “kind of”, etc, we ensure that the appropriate punctuation makes that obvious to the reader.  There is a big difference between: “and you know she said that…” and “and, you know, she said that…”.

And we are old school when it comes to the correct use of grammar, capitalisation and sentence structure.  When we are talking to each other, we have lots of bad habits that we are not even aware of.  When we are aware that we are being recorded, we are nervous and can stutter over our words.  That is why, when it is an intelligent verbatim transcript you want, we will make sure that the grammar and sentence structure is correct to make it easier for you to read and analyse – while ensuring that we do not change the sense of what has been said.  However, if it is a verbatim transcript you want, we will transcribe it exactly as it has been said, stutters, fillers, mispronunciations and all.

Verifying Terminology

We also know how annoying it can be when names and terminology that you are familiar with are spelt incorrectly by someone who is maybe not so familiar with your field.  That is why before we start working with you, we gather as much information about your project as we can, including a short synopsis and a glossary of terminology.  But we also appreciate that the list cannot always be exhaustive, so we make the use of our good friend Google to verify terms and names wherever possible.  But, if we cannot verify, we will not assume.  Anything that cannot be double checked will be highlighted and timestamped, and will remain consistent throughout the document, so you can double check it and do a quick search and replace if required.  We want to make it as easy for you as possible.

And the final steps…

We carefully review the beginning and end of the transcript to ensure that no content has been missed during the initial transcription process. This final pass helps us catch any introductory remarks or closing comments that may have been overlooked.

If, at any stage, we are not 100% satisfied with the quality of the transcript, our team will undertake a full re-proof from start to finish. This ensures that the final document meets our rigorous standards and is ready for immediate use in your analysis.