Wednesday 26 September 2018

Why Researchers Need The Academic Transcription Services Massachusetts Professionals Offer

By Virginia Moore


Interviews are an integral part of many research projects. A researcher can amass hundreds of hours of interviews which have to be transcribed precisely. Professors have traditionally turned to undergraduates who want part time work and are willing to take minimal pay for it. Finding students who are trustworthy and accurate is usually the problem. A more viable solution might be the academic transcription services Massachusetts businesses offer.

Some professors prefer not to record their subjects at all, taking notes instead. There may be instances in which the individuals object to being recorded, and note taking is required. The problem with note taking is that it takes attention away from the speaker. The researcher may have to ask the individual to stop and repeat what he said, which interrupts the flow of the interview. Recording nuances in the conversation is difficult when the interviewer is trying to write down the words said.

You could always listen to your recordings in order to do the work you need, but it will be much easier to read a transcript. There is no need to stop and start your recording device every time you want to return to a certain spot in an interview. It's much easier to skip over the extraneous sections of an interview and get to what is germane to your subject when you are reading. You can pick up and review much easier if you are reading from a transcript.

If you are working with a professional service, you have the choice of several levels of transcription. You might need every word said, including the nuances and hesitations. If this is the case, you should request a literal transcription of the recordings.

If you're not interested in the paralanguage, you can ask that it be left out. This will give you what is called an intelligent verbatim transcript. If you only want certain sections of the interview, or can use an edited version of the interview, you can ask for that. You have to be sure, if you are requesting an edited version, that the transcriber clearly understands exactly what you are looking for.

You certainly have several options when it comes to transcribing your recordings. You can do the work yourself. The benefit with this option is that you were present in the interview and can add notes on the verbiage no one else can. Transcribing recordings yourself however will take away from the time you have to conduct additional research.

You might hire a talented student involved in your research project to do the work. The advantage here is that you have an interested third party enthusiastic about your project. This person will also have some qualifications when it comes to the subject matter that others won't have.

The third option is to hire a professional service to transcribe your recordings. The professionalism the transcriptionist brings to the work will be beneficial. If you have time constraints, you know this person will have the work done on time. A professional will have had experience in any level of transcription you choose.




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