Accuracy:

Major Errors

We require that you

Mishear Omission Creative Transcription Speaker ID

Write down exactly what was said. E.g. dont change walk into work Always include all important words and phrases.* Dont guess at words and phrases if you are uncertain of what is said. Correctly identify who said what.

Minor Errors

We suggest you try to

Verbiage Spelling Homophone

Use the same word AND form/tense that was said. E.g. work vs works vs worked Correctly spell common and easily-researchable words. U.S spelling only. Write down the correct word, even when it sounds similar to other words.

Inaudibles

Put reasonable effort into identifying every word. Tag uncertain words appropriately.

Formatting:

Major Errors

We require that you

Basic format Notation tags Grammar Naming files

Use our standard Word layout and design. Use the appropriate tag when you need to leave a notation such as marking an inaudible. Dont edit speakers grammar. Follow our file naming rules for finished transcripts.

Minor Errors

We suggest you try to

Default style Punctuation Slang Miscellany

Lightly edit for readability. Remove speech disfluency such as false starts and stutters. Use punctuation appropriately to help convey the meaning of the words. Edit some common slang. Follow standard formatting for other miscellaneous formatting topics.

Special requests:

Request:

We require that you

Verbatim Timestamps

Transcribe everything in the audio exactly as heard. Add timestamp tag to the transcript every 2 minutes.

Speaker ID Rules It is important to accurately identify who said what Always label the speakers within a recording, even if it is a single speaker ID speakers consistently throughout the transcriptions Try to abbreviate speaker names to 10 characters or less; can be longer, so long as formatted properly

If

Then Use

Customer has requested specific speaker identifiers

that custom identifier (e.g. Interviewer)

You know the first name (or first and last names)*

only the first name

Multiple speakers have the same first name

the first name plus first initial of last name (if known)

You don't know the first name, but know another identifier such as last name or role (e.g. Reverend) You don't know any identifier

that identifier

Speaker + number (e.g. Speaker 1)

There are too many speakers to reliably and consistently track who says what

Male and Female (no numbers)

Researching difficult words: We expect you to research proper spellings for important words Google proper spelling of proper nouns (e.g., names, brands, and places) and topic-specific vocab If spelling is not easily findable, use a common or phonetic spelling and mark with timestamp Spell words consistently throughout a project

Speaker 1

What poetry! What [yoo-foo-iz-uhm 00:32:10]!

Acceptable phonetic spelling of actual word used: "euphuism"

Common homophones: The following is a list of common homophones, in which two words with different meanings sound very similar. Please make sure you use the correct word, so that it makes sense in the context of the sentence.

Word

Alternative Rule Word Its "Its" means "it is" or "it has." Its is the possessive form of it. It's keeping its rules straight. "You're" is a contraction of "you are, while your is possessive. You're working on your project. Were is a contraction of we are. We're hoping they were chosen to win the competition. Lets is a contraction of let us. Let's go have dinner, as compared to, She lets us use this. Typically, affect is verb and "effect is a noun. This is singular whereas these is plural. Their means belonging to them. There states where someone or something is. They're is a contraction of they are. For example: They're keeping their bicycles over there.

Its

Your

Youre

Were

Were

Lets

Lets

Affect This Their

Effect These Theyre There

Necessary formatting: Font type is set to Calibri, 12 pt, black. Set your margins to one inch (1) Speaker ID is aligned with the left edge of the margin All other text is indented one inch (1) using a hanging indent If any speaker name is more than 10 characters long, then increase the hanging indent from 1 to 1.5 Set paragraph formatting to single spacing between lines and Auto spacing between all paragraphs*

Stamping: When you need to notate the transcript, use the appropriate tags. It is better to mark an inaudible or crosstalk than risk omitting important words from the transcript. If a file is less than 60 minutes in length, its ok to use *mm:ss+ instead of *hh:mm:ss+.

[foreign language hh:mm:ss]

For any non-English portions of audio, please indicate where they begin with a timestamp and either the name of the language (if known) or simply foreign language. If a translator is speaking on a respondent's behalf, there is no need to denote [foreign language hh:mm:ss] every time that the respondent speaks. Used when unintelligible or inaudible words are stated. Equivalent to a blank in medical transcription. Used when multiple people speaking over each other causes the audio to become unintelligible. These should be labeled within the text as they occur. When you are unsure of the spelling of a word or name, include your attempted spelling in brackets with the timestamp. For example: Speaker 1: He is totally a [brony 01:04:48]. Watches it every day.

[inaudible hh:mm:ss] [crosstalk hh:mm:ss]

[phonetic hh:mm:ss]

[hh:mm:ss]

Standard format for timestamps indicating the hour, minute and seconds at which the speech is heard. Please do not include milliseconds.

Grammar: Never correct (edit) the speaker's grammar (morphology, syntax, and semantics)* Never paraphrase Never substitute words Never rearrange the order of speech

Dont correct phonetics unless it distracts from transcript readability.

Naming finished files: Copy the full audio/video file name exactly Audio/video streamed on a website: use the title shown Save the file as a Word (.docx) document

Editing for readability: Omit speech disfluency* (unnecessary filler words, false starts, stutters, repetitions, etc) Omit quick interjections, unless a direct response to a question Correct egregious phonetic and pronunciation errors that inhibit readability However, never omit meaningful words, entire sentences, or expletives If in doubt, dont omit the word(s)

Punctuation: Keep paragraphs to 8-10 lines long and look for natural points in the speech (a shift in topic, emphasis, or reference) to start a new paragraph. Punctuation is important for retaining the original meaning of a sentence. Use your judgment. Comma: Used in a pair in the middle of a sentence to set off clauses, phrases, and words that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence. Also typically used in Verbatim projects to indicate a stutter. Use an ellipse instead of a comma to indicate a significant pause.

Contractions and abbreviations: Do not and dont are equally ok. Doctor Doe and Dr. Doe are equally ok, however, writing I went to see the dr. would not be an appropriate use of an abbreviation. This should be written as I went to see the doctor. Percent or % is fine, just be consistent and be sure you match the numbers: "fifty percent" vs. "50%".

Ellipses: We typically use an ellipsis to indicate a speaker has trailed off or paused significantly in the middle of a statement. Treat an ellipsis like a word with a space before and after. Capitalize the word after an ellipsis if it starts a new thought. Hyphens: Hyphenate two or more words that precede and modify a noun as a unit, especially if the words include a past participle, a present participle, a single letter, or a number. For example: line-by-line scrolling Hyphens can also be used to indicate abrupt interruptions and cutoffs. For example: Speaker 1: Speaker 2: The symphony should really get itsI dont care about the symphony.

Sentence Spacing: The current convention for computer-published work is to use a single-space sentence final. If you are used to typing a doublespace sentence final, you may do so as long as you keep this consistent throughout the document.

Slang: We strive to accurately capture the meaning and intent of the audio. To that end, we generally do not correct grammar or slang. You should type what you hear. For example, "I gets" and "yeah" should be typed as-is, rather than corrected to I get and "yes". Verbatim projects: always type the slang, as spoken Non-Verbatim Projects: usually type the slang, as spoken. There are 6 exceptions, which you should correct:

Common slang

Should always be written as

Gonna Gotta Kinda Alright Cuz

going to got to kind of all right because

Gotcha

got you

Numbers Its equally ok to either spell out any number or use numerals, regardless of the units and its position within a sentence. Just be consistent in how you present the number and any special characters. For example: o o 100% vs one hundred percent $1 vs one dollar

One exception: one is sometimes used as a pronoun instead of a number. Always spell it out as a pronoun. o E.g. One of them has a secret to tell.

Time: If the speaker says 7-A-M type it as 7am. If the speaker says Seven oclock then type 7:00.

Verbatim requirement: Transcribe everything exactly as heard when a project has the Verbatim requirement Use your best judgment to apply punctuation Put audible non-speech sounds in () example: (laughs) (claps)

Timestamps requirement: Add timestamps every 2 minutes for projects with a Timestamps requirement Insert accurately in-line Ok to be mid-sentence Not ok to be mid-word