Academic Transcriptions: 5 Effective and Simple Tips

Recording speeches, lectures, courses, presentations are a popular method to store important information to refer to in the future. It is used by everyone around: by professors to review their lectures, by students to refresh knowledge, by employers during doing business projects, etc.

But listening to the whole record is a bit of annoying leisure. It is a waste of time especially if you need to retain information partially. This approach takes your time and doesn’t guarantee success. Here are 5 useful tips for you to solve such issues.

1. Rely on Professional Transcribers

It seems that converting audio to text doesn’t take much time and effort. If you still think so then you’ll experience a huge disappointment soon. Doing this job means not only listening to the audio file and writing sentences word by word patiently.

You must repeat the recording, type the content, control the quality no matter the speakers’ accents and the sounds in the background. Besides, don’t forget that we don’t type texts at the same speed we talk as a result you must make pauses, repeat audio, and write down sentences again.

Even after you have done transcribing, you need to repeat the audio to check and correct the written content. Maybe you have missed something, skipped a world, or made a mistake… Then be ready to correct your issues and proofread the final text.

So yes, if you need to convert audio to text you must be ready for challenges.

If you select professional transcription services for students then you’ll achieve the advantages of such a decision immediately. On the one hand, you don’t spend your own time on this annoying job. Experts will perform this task in several hours for you. On the other hand, you receive a mistake-free paper and can use it for your purposes. There is no need to check the audio again, correct misprints, and so on.

2. Control the video or audio file quality

If your file is full of noises, includes pauses between speeches, and consists of several files then you’ll experience complications. For professionals, at academic transcription, these issues don’t usually matter but newbies in transcribing will die hard with such a task. If you don’t care for the recording quality beforehand you’ll hate yourself in the future.

Here are several tips for better audio or video recording quality:

  • Sit in a quiet place and don’t talk to others without a big need;
  • Check your storage to make sure you have enough space to store a future document;
  • Make a test recording file before starting the main recording;
  • Keep your gadget with a microphone as close to the speaker as possible;
  • Use stable apps for recording videos and audio.

It’s better to make all preparations beforehand. Then you’ll have no issues with doing transcription without assistance or using transcription services.

3. Prefer Audio Instead of Video

If you need to convert the audio file into text then all players will open this format. You will have fewer issues with an Internet connection because audio documents are small in size. But if you need to convert video to text then it’s better to start with formatting the main file into audio and then work with its transcription.

There are many situations when a video file causes issues. For instance, your Internet connection may not allow you to repeat the heavy video again and again. Usually, a standard MP3 file is 1-5% of the size of the video with the same length.

That’s why the wisest discretion is to work with audio files (if the format of your record allows it). All you need is to use any free converter. It will take several minutes or hours to convert your file depending on its duration. Also, if you plan to order transcribing services then don’t worry about your file format.

4. Keep The Proper Format

It seems useless but your final documents after transcription should be well formatted according to modern academic standards. Even if you convert the content for your personal needs you will experience fewer issues with a high-quality document.

Just imagine that you have written content in a 100-page document without headings and paragraphs. Is it easy to read such a file and find any information? No, it’s not an easy task.

That’s why experienced professors and students choose a professional transcription service instead of doing this job without assistance. An expert in transcribing content will follow all academic requirements and provide you with well-structured documents.

Here are the main aspects to pay attention to:

  • Formatting of the document;
  • Proper font style (type, color, size, etc.);
  • Headings and subheadings;
  • Time codes in the written text.

Just remember that proper content format is important for you. No one will see it except you but these elements will help you to work with the paper.

5. Select A Professional Helper with Transcription

You are free to find assistants online and don’t even meet in person. Such an approach is easy and saves you time. But there are several things you must mention before hiring professional human transcribers or using automated software.

There are many companies and freelancers online. Both sides highlight their advantages for customers. But you must understand that no matter all claims and promises, a freelancer is unable to perform the same quality and speed as an experienced team of transcribers.

Usually, a freelance assistant does transcribe services between his or her main job so it harms quality and causes delays in file delivery. That’s why a professional company with a team of experts is a priority to you.

A reliable company cares for its reputation, takes responsibility for your assignment, and guarantees you satisfaction. Besides, when it comes to transcribing video to text then 2-3 pairs of ears are better than 1 assistant.

As you can see, transcribing documents isn’t a very big deal for experienced people. But it requires many skills and step-by-step preparations. If you miss something then you may experience serious issues.

So it is easy to understand why people prefer using a transcription company. A team of experts is a very effective and affordable option that provides you with real benefits.

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