Transcription Guidelines

You will be asked to watch a short video clip and transcribe the voices that you hear. You will be expected to transcribe exactly what you hear in a verbatim manner - meaning that you should record all filler words, incomplete words, false starts, stutters, exclamations, intonations, non-verbal sounds, etc.

Find the specifications below.

1. Spoken Words

• Make sure each word spoken in the audio is transcribed in the transcription. Ensure there are no words present in the audio that are not transcribed in the transcription, or vice versa. Avoid adding or omitting any words or sounds. There should be no numbers or symbols in the transcript aside from letters and the punctuation listed below. If you see numbers, currencies, or other symbols, please make sure to replace them with the fully written out, verbalized form.
• Example:
  • Audio: "I have $100"
  • Correct transcript: "I have one hundred dollars."

2. Filler Words

• Where there are filler words, capture these and spell them as best as you can. Offset with commas:
  • "What, like, would be a reason for you to, like, quit your job?"
  • "And then, you know, we were just talking..."
  • "So, uh, like, I wasn't too sure."

3. Non verbals/Speaker sounds

• Where there are non-verbal sounds that a speaker makes, we need to be sure to capture these. Use lowercase, between square brackets, and ensure you capture them inline as part of the continuous sentence:
  • "And er... that's kinda how it went [laughing]."
  • "And he was like [in low voice] "How are you today?"
  • "Oh my gosh [gasping], I can't believe it!"
  • "[swallows] uhm, are you sure?"
  • "Sure thing [sighing]"
  • "Let me just check [inaudible grumbling], it appears we have a slot at eight o'clock"
• Use ChatGPT to help you find the right tag.
• Use specific degrees of non-verbals to precisely annotate the sound. For example, [chuckling] or [wheezing].
  • Examples (laughing, crying, shouting)

4. Feedback Words

• Where it sounds like an individual is reacting to something being said to them (feedback words), be sure to capture these also. Include as normal words, and capitalize where needed:
  • "You know what I mean? Yeah. Mm-hmm. Totally."
  • "There was really no milk left? Nah, nope, mm-mm."
  • “I'd like, uhhh, some fries with that.”

5. Informal Contractions

• Where informal colloquialism or slang is used, do your best to capture this exactly how you hear it. Be sure to write as you'd normally see it, making sure to use apostrophes where relevant:
  • "I'm tryna be the good guy here."
  • "She was 'bout head home when y'all called."
  • "There's a whole lotta things to know about 'em."

6. Stutters

• Where a speaker stutters or repeats part of a word, we need to capture this using a single hyphen ("-") and no spaces. You are also allowed to use commas for full word stutters.
  • "I-I-I wasn't aware, I p-promise!"
  • “I was-was meant to call-call her.” OR “I was, was meant to call, call her.”
  • "Wh-wh-what makes you think that?"
  • "D-d-d-don't do that!”

7. Repetitions