Transcription creates a text-based version of audio or video recordings.
When transcriptions are created, efforts must be made to record what is being said accurately. It's not always feasible to reach out to the speakers represented in the recording to ask them what they said. The goal is to produce the best possible representation of what is heard. You must resist from editing the transcript if, for example, what is said is grammatically incorrect. Note things you may lose in a transcription including tone, emotion, pauses, etc. If these are important to your analysis, be sure to also concentrate on the original source files.
Transcription can be manual (by a human) or automated (by a machine). Manual transcription is usually more expensive but is also usually more accurate. If you're asking someone else, human or machine, to perform a transcription, pay attention to confidentiality.
There are several resources for you to upload an audio file and have a transcript generated. None of them are perfect, and you will need to correct any mistakes. There are many online tools that work with AI to generate transcriptions; however, many require a subscription or payment for full access.
We do not offer specific transcription services or equipment but suggest using the Transcribe feature in MS Word which lets you generate a transcript by uploading an audio file (.wav, .mp4, mp3). The file must be less than 300mb.
Free resources: