Transcription (THINGS TO KNOW)
Conventional Formatting
● Q&A / R&D / M&A ● and/or / 50/50 / 24/7 ● Mazda 6 / Windows 7 / iPhone 5s ● Elizabeth II / World War I (Said: Elizabeth the second, World War One) ● type 2 diabetes ● 6'2" (Said: six two or six foot two or six foot two inches, referring to height) ● a Title IV school ● Interstate 7 ● 2x4s / 8.5x11 (Said: two by fours, eight and a half by eleven) ● 401(k) ● K-8 (Said: K through eight, K to eight, or K eight)
False Starts
When a speaker corrects their speech or changes direction of thought mid-sentence, causing them to begin a phrase or sentence over again Indicate by typing double dashes -- *Did you just say-- wait can you repeat that?* If a false start has 3 words or < then delete it. We're out of oran-- apple juice, and I have to eat-- leave soon. Do you want to go to the mall with-- to the store with me to get groceries? *We're out of apple juice, and I have to leave soon. Do you want to go to the mall with-- to the store with me to get groceries?*
Run on sentences
When possible, break up long-winded or run-on sentences into separate sentences. it's okay to start a sentence with a conjunction, but don't make it choppy
After a conjunction
Yes → *So* I decided to get a new job as a professional mime. No → *So,* I decided to get a new job as a professional mime. Yes → *But* I didn't want to overstep my boundaries. No → *But,* I didn't want to overstep my boundaries Yes → But, although I wanted to go, I didn't want to overstep my boundaries. Yes → But although I wanted to go, I didn't want to overstep my boundaries.
Commas between subject and verb
Yes → She looked over my *proposal and approved* it. No → She looked over my *proposal, and approved* it.
Punctuating Tags
[inaudible], [crosstalk], [foreign] and the Guess tag. Punctuated like regular text because they take the place of the speech. - [silence] always sits on itself on a line with no punctuation - [music], [applause], [laughter], are placed on the same lines as text. if they fall at the end of a line just place it after the punctuation.
Nonspeech Tags
[silence], [music], [applause], [laughter]
Researching common companies
adidas iPhone MEDITECH Toys"R"Us 7-Eleven NBA Johnson & Johnson
Scales
always numerical!! for survey-type questions On a scale of 1 to 7, with 7 being extremely likely, how likely are you to recommend this product to a friend or colleague? I'd say probably about a 5. 5. Okay. And what would it take for it to be a 7?
Time
always numerical!! if the speaker *says o'clock* then do numerical and oclock after ● I got up at 5:00 AM this morning and left for work at 6:00. (Said: five AM, six) ● 9 o'clock was when the train crashed. (Said: nine o'clock) - capitalize AM/PM NOT FOR MEASURES OF TIME
Dates
always numerical!! ● He was born in the 2nd century CE. ● That's August 5th, 8/5. (Said: August fifth, eight five) ● I was born in the late '80s, 12/11/88 to be exact. (Said: eighties, twelve eleven eighty-eight)
Money
always numerical!! ● The hat cost 11.50. (Said: eleven fifty) ● I wish I had $5 million, but I only have about 15K. ● 8 grand / 12 sterling / 5 bucks / 8 cents Inexact numbers are still spelled out. ● My car is worth thousands, but my house is worth hundreds of thousands.
Decimals
always numerical!!! point six --> 0.6 ● The average score was 65.3, give or take 0.75. (Said: sixty-five point three, point seven five) ● The renovation cost 1.5 million. (Said: a million five) ● My favorite burger costs 3.99. (Said: three ninety-nine)
Percentages
always numerical!!! use % sign except for ranges ● 2% ● Between 6 and 7 percent
Very Large numbers
always spelled out million, billion, trillion etc. ● Five million chocolate bars ● 15 billion gallons ● 10,506,012 diapers (use numerals for very specific #s)
inexact numbers
always spelled out!! When a person gives a rough estimate of a large number, spell it out in words. ● Tens of thousands of birds ate a couple hundred pancakes. ● It cost hundreds of dollars to fix dozens of fallen fences. Exact numbers used as part of an estimation still follow our usual rules. ● Eight or so cats ● 30-some thousand bean bags ● 50-plus years old
Fractions
always spelled out!! ● Eleven-thirteenths ● Three and a half apples ● 12 and one-tenth of a percent
Semicolon
1. To join two closely related sentences without a conjunction. ● I don't like ice cream; I prefer cake. 2. To separate items in a complex list where the items contain internal commas. The semicolon in such cases clearly distinguishes each list item. ● I'm going to the beach, and I'm going to bring, A, an alligator-shaped beach towel, which I will lie down on all day; B, a butter sandwich, so I'll have something to eat; and C, my favorite crime TV show downloaded to my tablet. ● Adelaide, Australia; Rotorua, New Zealand; Taveuni, Fiji; and Hauula, Hawaii are my favorite vacation spots.
Colon
1. When you have a complete sentence introducing a list. ● I will need very few supplies for school: pens, paper, and highlighters. 2. For a complete sentence introducing another complete sentence or thought. ● Let me assure you of this: our potential with Africa is limitless. ● The word was out: smoking causes cancer.
Email Addresses
"My email is Frank at yahoo dot com" Transcribe: *"My email is [email protected]"* (even if he spells it out) - if the speaker both *says & spells* out email address then include both
Measures of Time
(spell out zero to nine; use numerals for 10 and above). ● It took me 30 minutes to drive two miles. ● It's five minutes past 3:00. ● I spent two weeks in Hawaii.
Sentence Fragments
*Yes →* I love speaking in long sentences, although they can be tough to transcribe. *No →* I love speaking in long sentences. Although they can be tough to transcribe.
Informal Pronunciation
- *gotcha, y'all, ain't, I'ma* are fine! No → gonna, gotta, wanna, kinda, sorta, coulda, 'cause/cuz, goin', ya, axed Yes → *going to, got to, want to, kind of, sort of, could've, because, going, you, asked*
Feedback Words
any generic word/phrase spoken while another person is talking, purpose is merely to show that they are listening or acknowledge what the other speaker says. We *remove* unless it leads to - further speech by the same speaker - someone responds to it. So I walked all the way to the mall yesterday. *Right. Gotcha*. I got a new job working for-- A job. Sounds great. --a family friend-- *Yeah. Great* --at one of the kiosks in the parking lot. Okay. Great. Yeah. And which kiosk are you working at?
[foreign]
anything you cannot understand bc its not an English word... find the word if possible He told me he wanted a [foreign]. I was like, "I'm sorry, I don't know Polish." ● So he turns to me and goes, "Mi casa es su casa, as we say back home. Cómo estás?" ● The French and Italian words for hand, main and mano, come from the Latin manibus. ● One of the foundations of whānau is whakapapa, which has great importance in Māori society.
Unfinished Interruptions
begin speakers new thought as normal I think-- So did you--? Sorry, you go ahead. Did you have a good time-- I didn't catch that. What did you--?
Thinking Sounds
do not transcribe meaningless thinking sounds!!! Said: I want a... buh... tk tk tk... pizza. Type: I want a pizza
Dont use commas for....
do not use commas to indicate a speaker pause
Comma splices
dont use commas here Yes → These are separate sentences. Don't join them with just a comma. No → This is a comma splice, these should be separate sentences.
Media Titles
Capitalize adequately; - The Lord of the Rings - Cooking Light. do not use quotation marks or italicize a title
Tags
DO NOT use tags that aren't listed. Work can be rejected for misusing or using incorrect tags - always lowercase letters, held between square [] brackets *exception of Guess tag*
Continued Interruptions
EXAMPLE: Now I'm going to tell you *exactly--* Wait a minute. *--what* I did in the 30 years I worked for the company
Commonwealth Spelling
Files will show the accents associated country - GB (Britain) - AU (Aussie/Australia) - NZ (Kiwi) - SCT (Scottish) - IE (Irish) *Have to pass exams to access these files*
Exceptional Cases (FS)
If a short false start conveys crucial meaning, include it. when a speaker says something to correct him- or herself before moving on: *I mean, I'm sorry, or excuse me.* - I went to the mall-- I mean, to the store and bought groceries. - He attended East Middle-- or, wait, West Middle School. - The most famous cartoon is Donald-- I'm sorry, Mickey Mouse.
Quotation Marks (Exception)
If the sentence *outside the quote* requires punctuation other than a comma or period, place it outside the quotation marks. ● Did you really come all this way just to say, "I lost my pencil"? If a quote is *nested within another*, use single quotation marks for the inner quote. Remember to close both sets of quotes. ● I heard a guy say, "My favorite movie line is, 'Dreams die hard, and you hold them in your hands long after they've turned to dust,' but I can't remember what movie it's from." So I told him, "Dude, it's from Dragonheart. The next part goes, 'I will not be that naive again.'"
Guess Tag
If you're not sure what is said but you can make a reasonable guess that fits the context, put your guess, followed by a question mark, into brackets: *[your text here?]* formatted to fit your response!! She vacationed in [Mongolia?] and [Siberia?] for spring break [last year?]. DO NOT put 2 guesses within the same tag.
Conjunctions & Interjections
Include these at the beginning, middle, or end of sentences as spoken. If a speaker finishes their thought with or, so, or but, we offset it with a comma. And I wanted to get a new dog*, but.* Ah, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So why didn't it work out? Well, it was just like, "This dog won't work." Aw, that's too bad. So was that the only reason*, or?* Oh, and he kind of smelled too*, so.* Ugh. That's a shame
Spelling Words Out
Individual letters are capitalized. If a speaker spells out a word, transcribe the letters spoken, with each capital letter separated by hyphens. DO NOT hyphenate acronyms, codes, serial numbers, unless the conventional format includes a hyphen - The letter after *J, is K.* - I expect you to treat one another with *R-E-S-P-E-C-T*
Spacing
Leave one space between sentences. Only press spacebar *once* after ea. sentence --> Find Function
More conventional formatting
Military Time: ● 0600 hours (Said: oh six hundred hours) ● 1400 (Said: fourteen hundred) Phone Numbers: ● USA: 1-508-555-2232 / 1-800-686-MORE ● UK: 44 7700 900632 Social Security Numbers: ● USA: 123-45-6789 ● UK: QQ 12 34 56 C Serial Numbers: ● Patient ID number 0543268 ● Product number 2256-4012 (If the dash is spoken or known from context)
Parentheses/Ellipses
Never use these, ever!
Incorrect Grammar
Them trees, they got so much locusts in them. My dad want me go to store because want a apple. *These are fine!!*
Contractions
Transcribe contractions as spoken. NO --> could of, would of, should of YES --> *could've, would've, should've*
Research with Medical Exceptions
Tylenol Tums Zyrtec ibuprofen cetirizine acetaminophen
Math Equations
Use numerals for math equations, but fractions are still spelled out. Also, spell out math symbols as spoken, e.g., *plus, minus, divided by, or negative*. ● One-half times 4 minus 4 equals negative 2. ● It's 3 to the 3rd power.
Profanities
We transcribe what is said w/o censoring
Symbols
We use the symbols for percent, dollars, pounds, and euros (%, $, £, and €) if the speaker says the word. Do not use a symbol if the speaker did not state it. ● I paid $500 for my college physics course and got a B plus. ● I'll bet you €50 that it's at least negative two degrees outside right now. I'm like 90% sure ALL GOOD ● How many US dollars are in a Canadian dollar? ● What percent of my time would you need? ● It'd be around 30-something percent. ● I can't believe you paid 60 bucks for a pair of socks.
Good Spellings
okay, all right, a lot, etc., US, USA, email, internet, healthcare
Style Guidelines
on the right of your *WorkHub* screen; must be followed! - These change per project/file so *always check*
[laughter]
placed at any point where loud or relevant laughter occurs - DO NOT place this tag on its own line Someone once asked me, "What do you do if someone rolls their eyes at you?" and I said, "Well, I usually just roll them back." [laughter] Ew, Dad. That's gross. That's like the time you told me to put a frog [laughter] [inaudible] bath. Well, both you and the frog survived, didn't you?
Colons & Semicolons
should be used sparingly in transcriptions
Numbers
spell out single-digit numbers (zero-nine); and numerate numbers beyond that (19,23,1127,84200)
Accuracy
strive to capture ALL speech relevant to the file; for words you cant understand --> speech tags.
[music] and [applause]
to note *relevant* music to the file, such as the intro music to a podcast... NOT for background music use applause tag for relevant applause [music] Please give a warm welcome to Dr. Frankenstein. [applause] He's discovered a permanent cure for allergies [applause] and is ready to share it with the world. Thank you for that introduction, Mary. Play the slides, please. [music]
Bilingual and entirely foreign files
transcribe any English conversation you hear and use a [foreign] tag for non-English conversation. DO NOT transcribe any English words or place names, etc., that are interspersed in a foreign conversation. If your entire file is in any language other than English, *submit a Help Desk ticket with the Job or Session ID*
Multiple False Starts
use the 3 rule of thumb and if keep the false starts at 3 Said: Here's an example of-- an example-- here is a case-- here is-- I guess I'm using a-- there's a lot-- this is a lot of false starts. Type: *Here's an example of-- here is a case-- I guess I'm using a-- this is a lot of false starts.*
[silence]
use to note when there is a minimum of 10 seconds + of silence - place it on its own line with no punctuation - if most or all the file is silent, send a help desk ticket Okay, class. Take five minutes to write your answers. [silence] Time's up. Let's see what you wrote.
Communication
when encountering something unusual such as a silent or foreign file --> use a *Help Desk Ticket*
[crosstalk]
when you cant make out what a speaker says bc another primary speaker is talking over them. DO NOT use this tag to "represent" where a speaker interjected. Remember each speaker gets their own line; assume in this example that you can hear everything the first speaker said but not the second speaker: Did you go to the store when I asked you to, or-- [crosstalk]. --did you forget again?
Numerical Consistency
● A mixture of buildings - one of 103 stories, five of 50 or more, and a dozen of only 3 or 4 - has been suggested for the area. ● He had 15 ties but only 2 socks. (Both are the same category, articles of clothing) ● It's $3 for one and I had five of them.
Punctuation between single dashes
● After we left the theater - have you seen Avengers yet? - we decided to get ice cream. ● We need to make the desserts - you make apple pie; I'll make a cake - before we are ready to leave.
Interrupted Quotes
● He told me, "I walked all the way out there," which is quite a long walk, I assure you, "to the mall." Then he goes, "But once I got there" - I can't remember how long it took him - "it was already closed." ● She told her team, "Let's decide next week," but a minute later, she said, "Actually, let's decide now." - if each part of the quote is a separate sentence, then you can capitalize it (in the second quote).
Numerical Ranges and Series
● It would take *13 to 14 hundred* man-hours to get this done. ● I need *30, 40 thousand* widgets by next week. ● There were maybe *three to four hundred thousand* people there. ● Maybe *50 or 60 percent* of my time is actually useful. ● We had *three* donations of *30, 40, and 50 thousand dollars*.
Reminders
- never paste into WorkHub; all work must be completed online on our WorkHub - Spell-check in word - helpdesk tickets for if you accidentally submit a file or if it is foreign. - tags always lower-case with square brackets
Conversation to Include
- automated voices - seemingly irrelevant conversations - *exclude* background speakers; if someone is speaking in the background, but main speaker has no interaction with them (other diners, PA system announcement, voices from a TV or radio) (this sometimes requires breaking up the main speakers dialogue!!) *if the main speaker interacts with it, must be transcribed*
Quotation Marks
- capitalize first word - punctuate, then close quotations ● So she said to me, "This is the best coffee shop in the world." ● "Why do we have to study math, Mr. Edwards?" the children asked. ● In a class for my master's, I had to start every answer with, "My answer is blah, blah, blah."
Single Dashes
- complete sentence - list of items sentence would still flow if the text between the dashes were removed. place a space before and after each dash ● As soon as we go to the bookstore - there are several of them down this street alone - we can go home. ● We talked to three major tech company founders - Bill Gates of Microsoft, Sergey Brin of Google, and Steve Jobs of Apple - about what they feel made those companies succeed.
Comma
1) Before a conjunction, between two complete sentences ● She looked over my proposal, and she approved of the whole thing. ● She looked over my proposal and she approved it. *(dont use for sentences <10 words)* 2) Oxford Comma ● We had apples, bananas, and strawberries in the fruit salad. ● We had apples *and* bananas *and* strawberries in the fruit salad. 3) Direct Address I told you, sir, that this wouldn't work. Jim, you didn't even give it a chance. Thanks for your input, Nancy. Interjections & Adverbs ● Oh, I don't know about that. ● Fortunately, he agreed with my idea. ● He wasn't paying attention and ran into a fence, basically. ● The toddler was wearing a sturdy helmet, thankfully, the day she fell off her tricycle
Difficult Audio
1) Replay problem sections (adjust audio speed) 2) Understand context (speakers voices/relistening) 3) Read for Clarity (Funs of ppl --> Tons of ppl) 4) Use tags when necessary (can use tags)
Bad Spellings
OK, 'kay, alright, alot, et cetera, U.S., U.S.A., e-mail, Internet, web, health care
Crutch Words
ONLY remove *Like, and You Know* We transcribe all others: *I mean, okay, sort of, right?* are OKAY
Stutters and Stammers
Re-repeated s-s-sounds such as st-st-st-stammers and stutters should, should not be, be tr-transcribed. But it is very, very important to include words that are repeated for emphasis. Yeah, yeah, yeah. People do do that sometimes "Repeated sounds such as stammers and stutters should not be transcribed. But it is very, very important to include words that are repeated for emphasis. Yeah, yeah, yeah. People do do that sometimes"
Filler Words
Remove filler words such as uh, um, er, hmm, uh-uh, or mm-hmm UNLESS it adds crucial meaning (being the only answer to a direct question) In such cases, we adhere to these spellings: Affirmative: *uh-huh / mm-hmm* Negative: uh-uh / nuh-uh / mm-mm Said: Did you go to the store? Mm-hmm. Yeah, I went last night. Mm-hmm. Hmm. Did you get milk? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Okay. Thanks. Hmm. Are you ready for, uh, dinner now? Mm-hmm. Hey, did you see the news tonight? Type: Did you go to the store? Yeah, I went last night. Did you get milk? Uh-huh. Okay. Thanks. Are you ready for dinner now? Mm-hmm. Hey, did you see the news tonight
Clean Verbatim (CV)
cleaning speech to make it easier to read, w/o editing what was said - *stutters, stammers, filler words, informal pronunciation, feedback, & false starts*
Changing Speakers
create a new line in the transcript by pressing *enter/return* once - does not include identification
Paragraphing
create split long single-speaker monologues into paragraphs based on - obvious topic change - change of speaker *paragraphs shorter than 40 seconds are too short, monologues over 2 minutes are too long*
Spoken punctuation
if a speaker dictates punctuation, then just do as instructed Said: Patient presented with a runny nose, *comma,* sore throat, *comma,* and red, itchy eyes, *stop* Type: Patient presented with a runny nose, sore throat, and red, itchy eyes. EMPHASIS... Said: She was *quote unquote* friendly to me, and I wanted to respect that, *period.* Type: She was, *quote-unquote,* "friendly" to me, and I wanted to respect that, *period.*
Numbers and Symbols
important to convey what the speaker says in a suitable format. When in doubt about the speaker's *intent,* you may spell out the numbers as spoken. So how much was the burger, and what time did you get back home? It was about *six fifty.* \What was? The burger or the time you got back?
[inaudible]
in place of speech you cannot make out due to the speaker's accent, poor audio quality, noise obscuring the words, or a research term you couldn't figure out
Solid block of tags
instead of cluttering the transcript with consecutive tags, simply mark with one tag and punctuation. In other words, if you have more tags than actual text, it's best to use just one tag. Heard: Okay, class. Discuss amongst yourselves for a few minutes. *[crosstalk] the [crosstalk]. But [crosstalk]. [inaudible] [laughter] [inaudible]. I think [crosstalk]. [crosstalk]. Yeah, [inaudible].* Okay. Are we all finished? Type: Okay, class. Discuss amongst yourselves for a few minutes. *[crosstalk].* Okay. Are we all finished?
Research
look up/research every: - name - company - term mentioned in the audio to ensure proper spelling & formatting *for multiple accepted spellings, use 1 & be consistent*
Spelling
need a strong grasp for English grammar, spelling & punctuation. *always proofread before sending in* - Chicago manual of Style *(CMOS)* - Merriam Webster *(M-W)* (American spelling)
Hyphens
never attach to a word ending in -ly. ● I have a custom-built computer. It's custom built because I built it myself. ● The employee of the month is usually a smartly dressed individual.
Slang and Unconventional Words
nonstandard words and slang are included as spoken "Then you do the same steps, da, da, and then da. Sha-doo-bop. That's all it is. We had an abso-freaking-lutely fantabulistic day."
Apostrophes
not for plurals, for possessives!! ● Eight cats / 12 TVs / the 1990s ● My father's house / the TV's antenna / Kansas's state legislature ● All 12 TVs' antennas / our fathers' houses ● It happened in the summer of 19-- or rather, in the fall of '08. ● I wish I'd been alive in the '70s
Religious References
numerical! ● Acts 27:1 (Said: Acts 27 verse 1) ● 2 Corinthians 11:28-30 (Said: Second Corinthians chapter 11, verses 28 to 30)
Addresses
numerical!! ● He lives on 2 Bourbon Street. ● Mail it to 414 East 63rd Street, Apartment 5.
