FACILITATION GUIDELINES & RECORDING TIPS

All transcription needs to be as accurate as possible and the quality of the recording has a direct bearing on that. We hope that the following sections will help our clients to make recordings of the highest quality - this will cut down on transcription times and costs. Each section contains tips common to all recording formats, as well as more specific guidelines for a particular situation and any transcription issues involved. More technical information can be found on our Equipment pages. This is a constantly evolving resource for our clients - if there's anything you'd like to see added, please let us know.

And please remember - all these dos and don'ts derive from real life situations we've encountered over many years in the transcription business. We really couldn't make it up!

INTERVIEWS (one-to-one / research)	CONFERENCES	FOCUS GROUPS / MEETINGS/ ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS
LECTURES / SPEECHES / KEYNOTE SPEAKERS	VIDEO / DVD FILMING	DICTATION
TELECONFERENCES (inc. telephone interviews)	ORAL HISTORY PROJECTS	DIGITAL / MINIDISC TRANSCRIPTIONS
AUDIO TAPE TRANSCRIPTIONS (standard audio tapes, mini tapes, micro cassettes)	PODCASTS	MARKET RESEARCH (vox pops)
WORKSHOPS / BREAKOUT SESSIONS	WEB CASTS

If we've 'caught' you before you've purchased any recording system, we would plead with you (on bended knees if necessary!) to choose a digital system. After many years' experience of transcribing all types of recordings, we've found digital recordings produces a far superior sound to analogue. Please read our comparison between digital and analogue systems.

Buying a budget recorder is a false economy because the final recording will be quite poor quality. We'd advise that you don't penny pinch at the outset - whatever the restrictions on your budget. If you skimp on the recording system, you'll pay extra for transcription costs because poor quality recordings take far longer to transcribe than clearly audible ones. Invest in a good system from the beginning and you'll more than recoup your outlay in savings on transcription services and in a relatively short period of time.

Issues such as quality of recording, clarity and number of voices, the speed at which they talk, whether they speak in coherent sentences, the number and degree of regional accents, and the amount of technical terms involved are common to all recordings and, therefore, common in their effect upon transcription times. All this advice can be summed up in one sentence - make clear recordings and your transcription will be accurate and your costs affordable.