How to save money on your transcription

In a nutshell, good recordings result in accurate transcripts. As much as we would like to, we cannot transcribe something that cannot be heard. Here are some tips to improve recording quality and get the most accurate transcripts possible:

• Avoid recording in cafes, shopping centres, outoors or other public areas where there is likely to be a lot of background noise. Wherever possible, choose a quiet room to record in.

• Other noise which can considerably interfere with recordings includes: air-conditioners and other machinery, rustling paper, traffic, others speaking in the background, coughing, sneezing, glasses clinking, rain, dogs barking, birds chirping, etc. 

• Familiarise yourself with the operation of your equipment and test it before use. 

• In group situations, ensure only one person is speaking at a time, with no background conversations going on. 

• Place the microphone near your respondent/s, not the interviewer. 

• If the subject is softly spoken, ask them to speak up. 

• If your recording device has voice activation, turn it off as it can sometimes cut off the beginning of a sentence or start at the wrong time, especially with softly spoken respondents. 

• If using analogue tapes, record on the fastest recording speed. 

• Do not use micro and mini tape recorders for groups. 

• Record in the mid-range of the recording volume. 

• Use an external microphone if possible.

• Use tapes that are no longer than 90 minutes in length. If possible, record on one side only. Do not reuse old tapes.

Software & Recording Equipment  

• Acappella Conference Audio Recorder  – (www.acappella.com.au) Acappella was designed to significantly lower the time and cost associated with transcribing conference recordings. The Acappella Recorder is a versatile meeting recorder capturing each speaker on their own track.
   
• Dictation World  – (www.dictationworld.com.au/index.html) Sydney based dictation equipment supplier offering a wide range of digital and analogue dictation machines.
   
• NCH Swift Sound – (www.nch.com.au) An Australian company offering an enormous array of dictation software for PC, Mac and portable devices; audio conversion software; video tools and telephone related software.
   
• NVivo – (www.qsrinternational.com) Qualitative data analysis software.