Structure and format for a transcript

This article is an excerpt from our eBook Recording, typing, analyzing - a guide to conducting interviews and transcriptions.

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Table of contents of this article

• Anonymization
• Timestamps and line numbers
• Smoothing
• Transcription and/or translation?
• Formatting
• The 10 most common transcription errors

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All transcription rules can be extended and adapted to your own needs and requirements. The options are diverse. Simple options include adding time stamps and/or line numbering or smoothing or anonymizing the transcript. In addition, the transcription process can be combined with a translation or subtitling. The individual options are described in more detail below.

Transcription rules can be extended by any number of options - including: Timestamp, line numbering, smoothing, translation, subtitling and much more.

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Anonymization

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In some cases, personal data is anonymized for evaluation and publication. There are three basic methods of anonymization:

Formal anonymization: Removal of direct identifiers such as name and address (replace with pseudonyms if necessary)

Factual anonymization: Not only personal characteristics (name and address), but also personal characteristics that enable indirect identification (e.g. locations or institutions). In addition, specific data is replaced by more general data (e.g. "Mercedes" is replaced by "car manufacturer")

Absolute anonymization: all direct or indirect characteristics are permanently removed (by redaction or deletion), which greatly reduces the informative value, however

Anonymization is usually carried out during the transcription of the interview. Experience has shown that the following concrete implementation has proven successful at abtipper:

• [Personal name] instead of personal name
• [Place name] instead of place name
• [Company name] instead of company name
• [Institution name] instead of institution name
• [Product name] instead of product name
• Any other names for descriptive objects that can clearly identify the interview partner are described neutrally in square brackets.
• If several persons, places, etc. are mentioned in the interview, these are numbered consecutively and retained for the entire interview, e.g. [place name1] always for place name1, [place name2] always for place name2...

However, you should consider carefully in advance whether you want to carry out anonymization and in what form, as subsequent de-anonymization is very time-consuming.

Transcriptions from abtipper.de can be created with anonymization on request WITHOUT EXTRA CHARGE. The usual prices for transcriptions with anonymization apply. prices for transcription. If you would like this, please indicate this in the comments field of your order. 

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Timestamps and line numbers

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In some cases, it is necessary to be able to quote exact passages in the transcripts. There are two options for this: Time stamps and line numbering.

Time stamps within the document are particularly useful if it is important to listen to certain audio passages again afterwards. These are usually added after each change of speaker or at certain points in time (e.g. every minute). In each case, the time of the audio file is inserted in the format #hh:mm:ss#. For certain evaluation programs, it is important that the time stamps have a specific format so that they can be read by the corresponding program and processed further (e.g. hh:mm:ss-ms for evaluation with MAXQDA).

By default, timestamps are set after each speaker change - but they can also be inserted at any interval (e.g. every minute) and for incomprehensible passages

In addition, incomprehensible passages can be marked with time stamps. This is advantageous because you can select the marked passages and listen to them repeatedly without much trouble.

time stamp in incomprehensible places are included in all transcriptions from abtipper.de are already included at no extra charge. Time stamps after each change of speaker are already included in the extended transcription; for the simple and scientific transcription we charge you an additional fee of 0.15 euros per audio minute net (= 0.18 euros incl. VAT). You can find more information under "Additional options" in the overview of services and prices. Services and prices.

For the citation we recommend line numbering. This can be done in common writing programs such as Word and Open Office in just a few steps in just a few steps. In Word, this function can be found under Layout, with several options available, whereby transcripts are generally numbered consecutively. In Open Office, line numbering can be switched on under Extras. If only certain areas are to be numbered, these can simply be selected and line numbering then switched on.

Line numbering is particularly recommended for citations - this can be inserted with just a few clicks (in Word under Layout and in OpenOffice under Extras)

Line numbering is possible for all abtipper.de transcriptions at no extra charge. Please simply indicate this request in the comments field when ordering.

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Smoothing

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In principle, transcripts are verbatim. In an extended transcription, no smoothing is therefore carried out at all. In a simple and scientific transcription, a slight smoothing is carried out in which stutters, ehms and hmhs are removed from the text. However, these are still verbatim transcripts.

A deviation from verbatim transcripts in the context of complete smoothing is mainly carried out for transcripts that appear as part of journalistic articles, for example in newspapers or on blogs. The smoothing of transcripts promotes the flow of reading and facilitates access for recipients. Transcripts with smoothing are therefore ready for print.

Even if interviews are planned, interviews have many characteristics of spontaneous speech such as stuttering, repetitions, (self) corrections and others. In the smoothing of transcripts, these features, among others, are corrected. If not already done by a simple transcription, dialectal utterances are also transcribed into standard German and grammatical errors are corrected.

Linguistic smoothing leads to a better reading flow and makes the transcript ready for printing - Features of spontaneous speech, such as frequent doublings, are corrected

Furthermore, in the course of smoothing, frequent duplications (e.g. duplications at the beginning of sentences) are replaced in favor of the reading flow. Experience has shown that sentences in interviews often begin with "so", "therefore", "and then", "but" and similar formulations.

In some contexts it makes more sense to delete word repetitions completely, especially the word "therefore".

In addition, passages that are not part of the interview are deleted during smoothing. This includes, for example, intermediate conversations with people who are not involved in the interview (e.g. a waiter in a restaurant who takes the order).

Example of a transcript without smoothing:
I1: So yes, how was it for you?
B: Well, the other experience was more intense in terms of physical sensation.
I1: In what way?
B: Well, I can't judge that 100 percent because I wasn't there for the whole eight minutes. So, I say, it could also have been that it would have developed differently, (I1: I don't see it that way.) if I-. (4 sec.)
I1: Somehow, yes. (Phone rings.)
B: Yes, well, it's somehow very, very strange, because I normally never fall asleep quickly. I've been to a lot of therapies and so on, et cetera, for example last year in Cologne with Mr. (?Schindlorz). He also asked me: "How can that be?"
B2: Would you like to order something else?
I1: Yes, another cappuccino please.

Example of a transcript with smoothing:
I1: What was it like for you?
B: The other experience was more intense in terms of physical sensation.
I1: In what way?
B: I can't judge that 100 percent because I wasn't there for the whole eight minutes. That's why it could have turned out differently, (I1: I don't see it that way.) if I-. (4 sec.)
I1: Somehow, yes. (Phone rings.)
B: It's somehow very, very strange, because I normally never fall asleep quickly. I've been to a lot of therapies, for example last year in Cologne with Mr. (?Schindlorz). He also asked me: "How can that be?"

Complete smoothing is offered by abtipper.de for an additional charge of 0.49 euros per audio minute net (= 0.58 euros incl. VAT). Further information can be found in the section "Additional options" in the Services and prices.

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Transcription and/or translation?

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In an international research context or with special interview partners, the interview may also be conducted in a foreign language. It is always advisable to conduct the interview in the interviewee's native language in order to avoid language barriers and to create a relaxed atmosphere for the interviewee.

This usually means that a translation of the transcript is necessary to make it accessible to people without the appropriate language skills.

The translation process usually takes place in two stepsFirst, the transcript for the audio or video file is created in the source language. This is followed by the translation into the target language.

To save a considerable amount of time and money, the translation can also be directlyi.e. without the intermediate step of transcription. This method should be preferred, especially if only the translation and not the transcript is required in the source language.

The translation is usually done in two steps - however, if only the translation is required, this can also be done immediately

Another option is the creation of a transcript in the original language, whereby only individual sections that are important for further use are translated, but also the insertion of time stamps.

Translations can also be produced according to certain specifications, which depend on the purpose of the translation. For translations that are published, e.g. for advertising or market research purposes, it is particularly important that the content is quick and easy to understand. A word-for-word translation can limit readability. This is why abtipper offers so-called simple translation in interpreter quality in which the language style is adapted slightly to achieve good readability. For the translation of scientific topics, e.g. specialist presentations, we recommend a word-for-word translation. These have a correspondingly high quality, which is associated with higher costs and in some cases is not absolutely necessary.

Further detailed information can be found on the following page on Transcription with translation.

A distinction can be made between simple translations in interpreter quality and word-for-word translations - simple translations are particularly suitable when only the content needs to be reproduced

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Formatting

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While the transcription rules to be observed transcription rules are usually described very precisely, the statements on formatting (e.g. font, font size, text alignment) are usually rather vague or not available at all. However, this is essential for good evaluability and an overall uniform and professional image of the transcripts.

All transcripts should be formatted in the same way without exception; graphic gimmicks (e.g. colored font) should be avoided.

The formatting is for the creation of transcripts very important - they should always be be formatted consistently

From abtipper's many years of experience, the fThe following formatting standards have proven their worth:

1. all transcripts arecreated in Arial font, with font size 11, a margin of 2.5 cm at the top/bottom/left/right, line spacing of 1.5 and 12-point spacing before paragraphs.

2. no empty lines are placed between the paragraphs.

3. the entire text is justified.

4. nothing is italicized, neither proper names nor foreign words.

5. statements begin with a capital letter and end with a period. This also applies to very short statements (e.g. "Yes.").

6 Paragraphs are only inserted when there is a change of speaker. Paragraphs are not inserted within a person's statement.

7. the speaker designations I: and B: at the beginning of the spoken contributions are marked in bold.

All simple and scientific transcriptions created by abtipper are uniformly formatted in exactly this way.

The easiest way to save the file is in a Word format(e.g. doc or docx). If an alternative word processing program is used, then saving in rtf format format, as this can be opened without errors by all common programs. Saving in different formats is usually possible in word processing programs with a single click ("Save as").

The easiest way to save the transcripts is in a Word format - alternatively, the rtf format can be used, as it can be opened by all common programs

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The 10 most common transcription errors

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Many mistakes can happen during transcription. In the following table, we have listed the 10 most common mistakes when creating transcripts:

Error	Wrong	Correct
Colloquial language Formulation is not smoothed out	B: Nah, I'm telling you, that I have a different preference.	B: No, I say tell you that I have have a different preference.
Missing punctuation marks	I: We've been waiting since 10 o'clock, (B: No, only since 12) that we - no, I won't tell you that .	I: We've been waiting since 10 o'clock, (B: No, only since 12.) that we-. NoI won't tell you that .
Stutterers and inserts that contribute nothing to the content nevertheless transcribed	I: I wi-, wi-, don't know either, (B: Hmh.) what the-, what that's about, (B: Yes.) so, yes, ask me please, please, please don't.	I: I don't know either, what the reason is, so please ask me, please, please don't.
Incorrect use of that/that	B: That doesn't mean that we're starting this right now .	B: That does not mean that we are starting this right now .
Speech terms in insets marked in bold	I: I can't think of the word right now (B: Web 2.0.) Exactly, that's what it's called, that's your topic.	I: I can't think of the word right now . (B: Web 2.0.) Exactly, that's what it's called, that's your topic.
Incorrect marking of unclear and incomprehensible passages	I: That was an important topic for Mr. (Javier?) in the ...... #03:02# project.	I: That was an important topic for Mr. (?Javier) at the ... #00:03:02#-project.
Use of incorrect punctuation marks	B: It told me - just between us - that was then Otto, Helmuth, Elli and and and ...	B: It told me, only among us, that was then Otto, Helmuth, Elli and and and.
No separation of tapeworm records	B: We then went to Berlin and there we opened a store or rather we bought a store and that was really successful.	B: We then went to Berlin . And there we opened a store or rather bought a store . And that was really successful.
Use of abbreviations	B: He used it to pay for the house, the car , etc. for BASF.	B: He had used it to the for example the house, the car et cetera paid for the BASF.
Typing and spelling mistakes	I: She also wants to have a bit of the house for herself .	I: She wants the house a little for herself .

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