Benefits of audio transcription services

Audio Transcription Services are involved with the conversion of recorded information (sound from audio or video files) into transcripts (written version of spoken words).

That is, a professional audio transcriptionist (either a human typist skilled to do so, or just a computer program as we have these days), listens to the sound from an audio or video file and puts into words, everything said by the speaker. Usually, the type of transcription required would be indicated based on the following guidelines for the audio transcription:

1. Alterations in sentences to correct grammatical errors, and/or
2. Words to be omitted.

Audio transcription itself has been classified into three, they are;

1. Non Verbatim Transcription Services,
2. Verbatim Transcription Services, and
3. Intelligent Verbatim Services.

Non Verbatim Transcription is designed to omit false starts and sentence filers such as; “uh”, “uhm”, “You Know”, “like”, “You know what I mean” etc, all repeated words, stutters and stammers and all non standard languages.

Verbatim Transcription Services, as the name implies, dubs the sounds, word for word. It will includes those words or expressions normally excluded from the non verbatim transcription. Even adding action sounds such as throat clearing, coughing, and details of disruptions.

Intelligent Verbatim Transcription excludes all “ums”, “uhs” and “ers” unless at the beginning of a sentence. False starts, all filers such as ” You Know “, ” like “, You know what I mean” etc, all repeated words unless repeated for prominence, all stutters and stammers, are also excluded. But it includes the non standard languages.

Verbatim audio transcription are required in various professional operations such as;

1. In court: Legal records needs Verbatim transcription services for maintaining accurate court records
2. In Insurance: Most of the insurance needs verbatim transcription for preserving accurate insurance claims
3. In Healthcare Research: Nowadays, it has become a common data management strategy and considered as an integral part for analysis and interpretation of verbal data.
4. In the Jornalism: press reports are often collected in form of voice recordings which often need to be transcribed.
5. Educational transcription is the process used by students to convert audio recorded lectures delivered by deans, professors, teachers, lecturers etc. at classrooms and halls of universities, colleges, schools etc., or at seminars, and field trips.

Back in the days, before computers and their utility programmes became regular household appliances, transcription was a difficult job, as it was mainly performed by appropriately skilled office secretaries or journalists who had to write down the speech as they heard it using advanced skills, like shorthand. The introduction of cassettes tape and portable recording devices made the work a lot easier and new possibilities emerged. These Cassettes were small pieces that could be mailed within locations which meant that for the first time, transcriptionists could have the work brought to them in their offices or homes