Transcribing Guidelines
Transcription Procedures
You as the transcriber should concentrate fully on ensuring that a verbatim typed transcript of the interview has been produced. The word processor's spell checking utility should be run on every file of a first draft. After the speller utility is run, you should review the manuscript yourself to catch errors the utility did not; e.g., when it bypasses if when the word is supposed to be is. The sense of the sentences can often be altered through such mistakes. Care in typing the first draft will minimize such errors, and care in reading over the edited transcript during the creation of a final draft should catch the ones that get by.
Drafts
1. Rough draft
a. Margins: 1 inch margins on all sides--top, bottom, left, right
b. Line spacing: double space all text; quadruple space between narrators
c. Headers and footers:
Headers must appear on every page except the first page; they go in the upper right hand corner. The type is Times 12 point. Simply include the interviewee's name and date of interview (e.g., NAN BREWER / Jan. 24, 1994) on the first line, the name of the project on the second line, and "Missouri Historical Society" on the third, followed by a line border. For example:
SAM KLEIN / 12-4-90
Garment Industry Oral History Project
Missouri Historical Society
Page numbers appear on every page, on the first line of the footer which is justified right. Type the page number in Times 14 point. The second line of the footer indicates the tape and side, in Times 12 point. The footer has a line border across the top. For example:
Page 13
Tape 1 of 2, Side A
d. Indicate tape side:
At the end of a side of tape you have transcribed, identify the side by typing two lines down at the very end of the transcript, the centered phrase, END OF SIDE [side A or B] TAPE [tape number] OF [number of tapes]. For example:
END OF SIDE A, TAPE 1 OF 2
e. Preliminary data at top left of the first page:
Begin the document by inserting essential
categories and information (as available) at the top left of the first
page, as in the following format:
*Draft* Tape 1 of 1, Side A *Draft*
f. Place in the header for page 2 and following " **DRAFT** "
Place **DRAFT** at the top left of the header on each page from page 2 following.
g. Indicate the end of the interview:
At the very end of the interview, after you have typed in the end of the tape, type in the centered phrase, END OF INTERVIEW. For example:
END OF SIDE B, TAPE 2 OF 2
END OF INTERVIEW
h. File system
Start a new file for every new side of tape you transcribe.
Start a new file for every interview done
• even if the interviewee and interviewer are the same people doing a repeat interview on another occasion
• even if the second interview begins on the same side another interview ends
2. Final draft
When an interview transcript returns from an interviewee with corrections, the transcriber should read it over carefully to make sure that no additional typing or grammatical errors were missed by the interviewee. If any are found, these should be marked for correction. All corrections should be input exactly as indicated by the interviewee, except for non-typographical changes he/she might have made to any interviewer's statements, which the interviewee has no right to alter or delete.
Substantive deletions (sentences or whole answers) should be indicated by [deletion]. Insertions of partial or whole sentences to interviewee answers should also be marked by brackets to tell the reader these words are not on the tape. The deletion of such asides or repetitions as "you know" or "like" by the interviewee need not be indicated by [deletion], if they do not change the content of the answer. Blank spaces (inaudible spots on the tape) filled in by the interviewee or spelling corrected by the interviewee also do not require brackets.
See the examples at the end for both a rough draft and a final draft model. Note that the format of the first page of the interview is the same in the final draft as in the rough draft, but the text is in single space with double spacing between changes in speakers.
The final draft of the interview will include a table of contents and an index, which the transcriber generates during a reading of the transcript for any editing changes beyond those made by the interviewee. Tables of contents direct the reader to the major points covered during an interview. Indexes direct the reader to specific names, places, events, (such as the Depression), etc., mentioned within the interview.
Some General Principles
1. You can expect to have some trouble transcribing, because all tapes and all interviews are not made equally. Background noise, electrical interference, tape recorder mechanical problems, improper placement of microphones, as well as a host of other possible problems can arise. Your job as transcriber is to make as intelligible a piece of typed documentation as possible in order to make this resource available as an historical document.
2. Listen to a few words, then type verbatim. Listen far enough to avoid "putting words in the speakers' mouths." Do not anticipate what is coming next; anticipating the speakers' words might cause you to make an error of factual significance or to change wording or sentence structure.
3. Transcribers should type everything exactly as they hear it. Transcribe all intelligible utterances: false starts, filler words like um or well, as well as the content substantive statements. It is essential to type words in their order of occurrence. Misordered words can drastically change the meaning of some sentences and distort the facts the speaker intended to convey. For example:
He also was responsible for that error.
He was also responsible for that error.
He was responsible for that error also.
4. Do not use what you might consider proper or correct word forms or sentence construction if the speaker did not. Type we was or it taken longer than we thought if that's what was said. Type contractions and abbreviations when they are used. Run several sentences together if that is what the speaker did.
5. Do not attempt to indicate dropped word endings and normal mispronunciations of words. For example, type "going" instead of "goin'."
6. However, common slang pronunciations should be used: type "yeah" instead of "yes" when the narrator actually says "yeah."
7. Use a dictionary in order to be as accurate with spelling as possible. Be careful with spelling proper nouns. Use reference tools which would include the subject being discussed and aid in the proper spellings.
8. After attempting unsuccessfully to understand a word or phrase by replaying it three (3) times or asking some co-worker nearby for his/her opinion, leave blank spaces bracketed with square brackets [ ]. Sometimes the meaning becomes clear later in the transcript; in that case, go back and fill in the blank.
a. If you have a guess as to what the word is, square bracket your guess with a question mark following it; e.g., "Simon and [Shug?] went home."
9. Spell unfamiliar foreign words as closely as possible from pronunciation and mark uncertain spelling with "[sp?]" to alert the interviewee to correct spelling of that word.
10. Break long speeches into paragraphs at points where there are shifts of topic or what you perceive to be meaningful pauses within a statement. This increases the readability of the transcript.
11. Indicate any action, laughter, crying, etc., in square brackets; e.g. [all laugh], or [The phone rings, interrupting the tape as Simon arose to answer it].
12. The transcript should be typed without quotation marks for all utterances. The assumption is that all that is contained within the transcript has been spoken. The only time quotation marks are to be used is when the narrator is quoting someone (cf. #8 below, under the Quick Guide to some common transcribing questions).
Quick Guide to some common transcribing questions
1. Commas
As a general rule, if you have any doubt about whether to insert a comma, leave it out. Be sure that you don't change the meaning of the sentence by under- or over-punctuating.
2. Capitalization
As a general rule, if you are undecided about whether to capitalize a word, leave it lower case. Avoid capitalizing simply to conform to modern trends or idiosyncrasies. Official titles should begin with a capital. See Chicago Manual of Style for specific punctuation and capitalization questions.
Examples:
a. the army; the navy; the United States Army
b. the depression; the Great Depression (capitalized because it refers to a specific named event, the 1929-1939 depression)
c. Negro, Caucasian, and Oriental are capitalized when referring to racial denotations, but black, white, and yellow are not.
d. A word used to identify a decade is not capitalized; e.g., twenties for the 1920s is not capitalized.
e. Generally recognized regions, such as the South and the Midwest, are capitalized, but areas such as southern Illinois or central Missouri are not.
3. OK is correct; O.K. or okay is not OK.
4. Numbers
a. All numbers are expressed in figures (numerals), with only these two main exceptions: 1) numbers at the beginning of sentences are spelled out, and 2) when the number one is not used in conjunction with other numbers, it should be expressed as one; when in a mix with other numbers, it should be expressed as a figure. For example:
One hundred apples a day will keep 100 doctors away.
She was the only one left.
There is one apple in the basket.
There are 2 apples in the basket.
The basket will hold 1 or 2 apples.
b. Numbers in the millions and above are expressed in figures and units of millions, billions, etc.
In 1979 about 65.5 million adult Germans consumed 2 billion gallons of beer.
c. Fractions should be represented in figures, except when used as a noun or adjective.
The bank pays an interest rate of 3 1/2 % on saving accounts.
He came home about half drunk.
She stayed in school only about a third of the time her senior year
d. Decades, when expressed numerically, should be written with a final s and no
apostrophe.
The 1920s was the decade of the Lost Generation.
5. Currency
The symbol $ is used for dollars ($25); the $ symbol is used with a decimal point for cents ($.25).
6. The possessive of proper nouns terminating with s or z is an apostrophe followed by an s:.
Mr. Jones's style is manual.
When the ending is double s (ss), the proper possessive is an apostrophe with no s following.
Mrs. Glass' best friend died.
7. Academic Degrees
The names and abbreviations of academic degrees should be capitalized when following a personal name.
Lyman Rudolph, Master of Arts, Ph.D.
However, academic degrees referred to in general terms are not capitalized.
master's, bachelor's, doctor's
8. Indirect Discourse
When there is indirect discourse involving more than a single change in speaker, it should be treated as direct discourse with a paragraph for each change.
Z: We didn't want to hear a cornet. One night he said,
"Zach," he said, "you don't like that cornet of mine, do you?"
I said, "Well, now that you mention it, no.""
And he said, "You know, I have never said a damn word about that fiddle of yours."
"I guess not," I said, and that was the end of my fiddle playing from that day on.
9. Ellipses
In transcribing oral communication, ellipses (i.e., three dots: ...) are used to indicate lengthy pauses, fragmented thoughts and unfinished sentences. They have great visual impact, capturing the reader's attention and interrupting the continuity of the reader's thinking. The ellipsis should be used sparingly, only for dramatic effect. Its power is wasted on the brief pauses common to ordinary speech (such pauses can be indicated merely by a comma). Do not hesitate to use it, however, when interviewee incoherence demands it or when a pause is of sufficient length or significance. Ellipses are used in the following ways:
a. Within the body of a sentence an ellipsis is 3 dots with no space between the
dots and the words they separate:
J: Not only was there Pierce Arrow, which was purchased in 1928, I believe...wasn't Pierce Arrow purchased in 1928?
b. When it occurs at the end of a sentence (to indicate completion) it is three dots
immediately following the last word, followed by the terminal punctuation the sentence requires:
K: During the Korean War you were involved in the manufacture of jet engines for....
If the same speaker then continues, space twice and begin a new sentence:
K: During the Korean War you were involved in the manufacture of jet engines for... Let me start over. Back in 1953, you were involved in the manufacture of jet engines. What exactly did you do?
c. If used to indicate a pause following a complete sentence, leave two spaces
between the terminal punctuation and the ellipsis. The first word of the next sentence should immediately follow the last dot of the ellipsis:
K: I guess I really don't know. ...Is there something in the process which is not known by the public?
10. Dashes
Dashes can be used almost interchangeably with parentheses to set off parenthetical statements. They may also be used in the same way a colon is often used--to indicate that a list of a clarification follows. As with the ellipsis, when dashes are typed, no spaces should be left between the dash and the words around it.
C: If you had gotten into a situation where
the one-facet economy–namely the consumer economy–had been saturated,
it could have been saturated more quickly.