In-Person Recording Tips

 
1. Use a digital recorder that makes clear, crisp recordings and become familiar with its controls ahead of using it. 

2. Choose a quiet location, one that won’t become disruptive during your session. 

3. Test your location and equipment with another person before conducting a session, i.e., test record and listen to the results. 

4. Remember that capturing the interviewee’s voice is the purpose of the interview; therefore, place your recorder or an external microphone in that speaker’s direction. 

5. Make a backup recording on another device, in case the original fails. 

Remote Recording Tips

 1. Use Zoom, Microsoft Teams or a conference call line that includes the option of recording sessions. We can readily convert any audio or video format you send us for use with transcribing software.

2. Don’t place a recording device next to a phone speaker to record. The result is nearly always muddy and distorted.

3. Though the recording quality is generally good, sessions conducted on Zoom or Teams often include technical glitches. We leave talk about such disruptions out of transcripts, unless it becomes relevant to the session. Sometimes participants use devices that are connecting poorly with the platform, resulting in distortion or dropouts. If you become aware of such poor sound quality, ask if the participant can switch to another device.

4. Make a backup recording on another device, in case the original fails

Tips on Informing Us of Your Project

Informing us “educates” our ears, teaches us about your project. Too many times we’ve been sent work with no information, and with repeated inquiries, we are told little if anything more. This silence costs us more time in researching terms and names on our own. This takes time, slows the completion of a project, costs a client more, and, in some cases, affects the quality of the transcription.
 

1. Tell us what your project is about and who is participating in your research. A thesis statement would suffice.

2. Send a list of repeated questions, your instrument, if you are using one.
 

3. Provide a list of technical terms used and references, acronyms and unusual names.