Academic transcription means converting audio or video recordings of scholarly activities into a text format. It has one of the highest projected annual growth rates for 2023 to 2030, at more than 9% across all levels of education (From K-12 to the university level).
The growing demand for academic transcription services reflects the increasing adoption of video recording and virtual conferencing technologies in educational research, seminars, and classes.
An easy-to-reference academic transcript is a lifesaver for most professors, students, researchers, and educators who have much on their plates daily. While it can be challenging to sail through, with educational transcription, practical solutions are available. Read on to explore the challenges with academic transcriptions and more.
Who Needs Academic Transcription Services and Why?
Academic transcription helps to streamline learning and teaching processes and can aid certain administrative aspects at schools, colleges, and universities. Potential beneficiaries include:
1. Students
Academic seminars and lecture transcripts provide quick reference for students, which is ideal for study and exam preparations. They allow learners to focus on the lectures instead of trying to listen while taking notes at the same time. Similarly, academic transcripts are available for post-lecture sharing and referencing – a key benefit for classroom absentees.
2. Researchers
Research is an integral part of academic life, both for the students and the teachers. If you conduct a series of video interviews for your dissertation or research project, you may need to transcribe them into text for presentation and reference purposes.
3. Educators/ Tutors
Lecturers, teachers, teaching assistants, and professors that teach online can benefit from using academic transcription services. They can use transcripts to explain complex concepts, and students can take their time reading the material for better understanding. Also, transcribing video calls between educators and their students can produce easy-to-reference documentation.
4. Special Needs Students
Academic transcripts allow students with hearing impairment to participate more effectively in learning. Transcription is a significant inclusivity trend across all education levels.
5. Educational Institutions
Schools, colleges, or universities may require academic transcription services for much more than online classes. Transcripts can help these institutions’ corporate, or management side better organize their board meeting notes, phone calls with clients, and more.
Challenges With Academic Transcription
Academic transcription does come with its own challenges, including:
1. Complex Audio
Some recordings are more complicated than usual to transcribe. Problems often include inaudible speech, frequent use of industry-specific jargon, too much crosstalk, background noise, filler words (like “uhm”), and speakers with a heavy accent.
2. Resources
Academic transcription is not a core business for educational institutions. Consequently, those needing these services only sometimes have access to qualified local transcriptionists with quality assurance.
3. Data Security
Using online academic transcription services introduces various cyber risks. There is a need to protect any personal or confidential information in lecture or interview recordings, such as interviewees’ identities.
4. Time Constraints
Tight deadlines are a fact with any busy academic calendar. When transcription is long drawn out, students can easily stay caught up in classes or fail to complete private study in time for exams.
5. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Is Only Sometimes the Better Option
Manually turning audio into text, word by word, is not a walk in the park and can take time. However, AI-enabled speech-to-text software is much less effective than people think, due to its limitations in accurately transcribing complex speech patterns, understanding context, and handling background noise.
Reasons to Address These Academic Transcription Challenges
Among other things, transcription hurdles can impact the quality and usability of an academic transcript. It would help if you tried to solve any such issues for reasons such as:
1. Research Transcript Accuracy
However tricky the recording is, getting every part right can enhance the analysis and credibility of your research findings.
2. Workflow Efficiency
By perfectly resolving crosstalk, false starts, stutters, and background noise, a clean transcript makes for pleasurable reading. It can streamline collaborative research.
3. Meeting Deadlines
Expertly navigating all academic transcription obstacles allows you to receive a high-quality transcript on time without inaccuracies that require reworking. The short turnaround time (TAT) can be the difference between delaying and finishing your class, study, research, or exam prep in time.
4. Future Repurposing
If the transcript is accurate and in the correct format, it can serve multiple purposes. Potential future uses include the study or inclusion of a dissertation interview in a text-based peer-reviewed publication.
Choose the Right Transcription Service to Get the Best Result
To leave no room for mistakes in the transcript, select a transcription service offering the following guarantees:
1. Ninety-Nine Percent Accuracy
This transcript quality and precision level requires a well-trained and experienced transcriptionist. The expert gets critical aspects of the transcription right, including speaker identification, time stamps, and use of any specialty-specific terminology. They should also be able to correct grammar mistakes on request to provide a reliable standard transcript for scholarly reference.
2. 100% Human Transcriptionist
If somebody promises you a near 100% accurate transcript generated with AI software, run! They are lying or have no idea what it takes. You need a human transcriptionist to carefully listen to your recording and hear every utterance correctly, even if the speakers have a thick accent or there is significant background noise.
3. US-Based Transcriptionists
Choosing US-based (rather than overseas) transcriptionists provides numerous unique rewards. Their perfect grasp of English is helpful for text accuracy, picking out homophones, and understanding the context of recorded dialogue. Also, they are available for daytime support and communication with clients, allowing them to understand your unique transcription needs.
4. Assured Data Security
Academic recordings may contain personally identifiable information or private research work you would not want to be stolen or disclosed online. Secure multiple guarantees from your preferred academic transcription service to protect your transcripts. These may include compliance with U.S. data protection laws, server encryption, and confidentiality contracts between transcriptionists and clients.
5. Customized Formatting
With academic transcription, you always want the transcript delivered in a ready-to-use digital format. This level of customization works for any transcription request, whether it is for a dissertation, lecture notes, or focus group interviews. Getting the text in your preferred verbatim or non-verbatim style allows you to incorporate it into your studies or research immediately.
Summing Up
The adoption of video conferencing tools for classes, seminars, research interviews, etc. is rising in scholarly circles. The growing use of academic transcription services accompanies this transformational trend across all levels of education in the U.S. However, students, educators, and other industry players seeking transcription often encounter numerous stubborn obstacles. Amid a deficiency of transcription resources and staff in the sector, clients may struggle to get accurate transcripts out of complex audio recordings. Beating tight deadlines and securing their data online can also be challenging.