Transcribing Rules

British Entertainment History Project Transcribing requirements

Transcribing rules PDF

Face-to-face interviewing is littered with non-verbal communication such as hand, face and body gestures. The original recording is the most accurate reproduction of the interview, minus these non-verbal gestures. However, transcriptions increase accessibility, and together with the recordings and summaries create an important resource for a wide range of purposes – academic research, museum displays, local, family and community history, even television and scriptwriting research.

Turning a recording into written speech is sometimes akin to an act of translation, not just editing. There is no consensus on how to perform the task, but there are some ethical guidelines you should follow:

  • Listen to the recording in its entirety once to become familiar with the voices on the tape and the questions being asked.
  • Head the transcript with the Unique interview number and name of interviewee and interviewer as we as name of transriber
  • When formatting the text on the page, use one-inch margins on each side of the paper; number the pages; and double-space the text.
  • Identify all speakers at the start of their comments, by typing their name in bolded capital letters, followed by a colon, e.g., SMITH:
  • Use Time Roman font, print size 14
  • Insert timing approx. every 1 minute at the start of each sequence.
  • indicate dates eg as 5 May 2010
  • Do not correct interviewees’ words or grammar, do not change speech patterns. Do not change content, intent or put words in the interviewee’s mouth.
  • If changes are made, clearly indicate when and how the transcript differs from the original tape recording.
  • Put in brackets explanations about why the interview was interrupted or why the tape recorder was turned off, e.g., [Interview interrupted by a telephone call].
  • Indicate the end of a side of the tape in capital letters, e.g., END OF SIDE ONE, TAPE ONE;
  • Re ‘um’s and ‘er’s: omit these from the transcript. Where there are long pauses that seem significant time-wise, please mark as: [pause].
  • Please indicate incomplete sentences or phrases by three dots, rather than a dash (e.g. Not: ‘You said that you joined this firm in Southgate sweeping the floor, now you’re talking as if you actually did all these amazing – how did that happen?’ But ‘ You said that you joined this firm in Southgate sweeping the floor, now you’re talking as if you actually did all these amazing … How did that happen?’
  • Indicate laughter as: [laughter] (i.e. rather than [laughs])
  • Place certain recorded activities into square brackets e.g. [laughs], [phone rings].
  • Unintelligible parts of the recording? Listen carefully. Get someone else to listen. Type what you think it says and add [??] or add or [unclear].
  • Feedback words and sounds such as “uh huh,” “yes” and “hmm”- interviewers use them to engage with the interviewee but can make transcripts tedious to read. Use your judgement when to leave these out.
  • Transcribing machines with a foot pedal leave your hands free for writing or typing, but an ordinary playback machine with a pause button is adequate. Comfortable headphones are a must for lengthy transcribing sessions-the little ones that fit just inside your ears are perhaps best avoided. Typing into a word processor will help speed things up. And remember-transcribing can be physically demanding. Make sure your equipment and seating is comfortable to use, and take regular breaks.
  • You may also want to consider software which is available to make transcribing via your computer more easy. One such package is Express Scribe, which is available free on the web at http://www.nch.com.au/scribe/
  • Sometimes narrators are given the opportunity to review transcripts. They can usually fill in any gaps and spot more easily than anyone else the errors in the transcript. Reading the transcript also sparks additional memories that they would like to include, which could be inserted in brackets in the document.

Sources consulted

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