How to Choose the Best Online Academic Transcription Service?

Need Transcription services for your university research or coursework? If so, the transcription service provider you select will be critical to the success of your final project.

When it comes to transcribing academic work, accuracy and timeliness are critical.

So, whether you need interviews or focused group discussions transcribed, the transcription company you choose should work fast to produce accurate transcripts.

Here are some things you should keep in mind when looking for an academic transcription services provider:

Factors to Choose Academic Transcription Services

1. Quality and Accuracy

Hiring a new company to transcribe your academic research project can be a tall order, especially since you do not know what to expect in terms of turn-around time and quality.

However, this does not mean you should stick to a provider that does not match your expectations.

You can trial new providers by giving them small audio files for transcription.

Based on the transcripts you receive, you will have a good idea of what to expect from the company in terms of quality.

Ideally, you want to sample the company’s work with audio files covering similar content that you are likely to need to be transcribed in the future.

2. Context of Your Research

Context is critical to capturing the exact meaning of the words spoken in an audio file. Professional transcription companies have employees from a wide range of backgrounds.

The transcriptionists are typically assigned projects related to their backgrounds.

For example, if you need an economics seminar transcribed, the file will probably be assigned to employees with a business background.

Find out whether the company you want to hire has experience in the subject areas covered in your files.

This way, the transcriptionists will easily be able to understand the content and transcribe it accurately.

3. Security and Confidentiality

The security of your data is also an important thing to consider when evaluating university transcription companies.

You may not worry so much about your confidentiality as a researcher. However, depending on the topics you are covering, you may want your subjects’ information kept private.

For this reason, hire a transcription company that can guarantee confidentiality. 

If you are handing over any form of sensitive data to the transcription company, make sure the provider has put specific measures in place to prevent data breaches or leaks.

For example, some transcription companies split large files into smaller clips and assign them to different transcriptionists.

This way, no one employee can have a full picture of the content of the files.

4. Large Research Project Management

If you have a large and time-consuming project, hire a transcription company with the resources and infrastructure to handle the workload.

You could also hire a freelance transcriptionist to save costs.

However, the time it will take for the professional to finish the project may be too long.

Also, when there are no proper quality controls in place, it is difficult for a solo transcriptionist to produce error-free work.

To get quality transcripts and save time, hire a company that specializes in academic transcription services.

The above are four important things to keep in mind when looking to hire an academic transcription services provider.

Also Read: The Think Out Loud Strategy: Tried and Trusted