How do you transcribe an interview?
Sarah Duran
Published Mar 13, 2026
How to transcribe an interview
- Choose your preferred transcription method.
- Transcribe the audio (using transcription software)
- Add speaker designation and time stamps.
- Clarify the transcript where needed.
- Proofread the transcript.
Do I have to transcribe my interviews?
If you conduct qualitative interviews, you’ll need to transcribe the interviews. And that’s because of how you code (you’ll be looking for themes, categories etc) from your data and how you’ll report your findings; using interview excerpts/vignettes.
How do you transcribe a qualitative interview?
Tips on transcribing qualitative interviews and naturally-occurring interaction
- Name of the research project.
- Speakers (identified by pseudonyms)
- Date and time of the interview or recording of the event.
- Context and setting.
- Audio file name or number.
- Duration of interview or recorded event.
How do you write a transcript?
Your transcript should include page numbers, a title, and the date. It’s also a good idea to include an abbreviated version of the title and date in a header or footer on the page. You also need to identify the different voices on the recording. You can use the first letter of each person’s name or a nickname.
What are the rules of transcription?
Basic Transcription Guidelines
- Accuracy. Only type the words that are spoken in the audio file.
- US English. Use proper US English capitalization, punctuation and spelling.
- Do Not Paraphrase.
- Do Not Add Additional Information.
- “Clean Up” Non-Verbatim Jobs.
- Verbatim Work Should Be Truly Verbatim.
How long does it take to transcribe 1 hour of audio?
four hours
The short answer to this question is; it depends. Generally, the industry standard for transcribing one hour of audio is four hours. That means you should expect any audio that is less than 15 minutes to be transcribed within an hour. Some experienced transcriptionists can transcribe files much faster.
What are the types of transcription?
There are three basic types of transcriptions that every business owner needs to know
- Edited Transcription.
- Intelligent Transcription.
- Verbatim Transcription.
Why do we use transcription?
In the academic discipline of linguistics, transcription is an essential part of the methodologies of (among others) phonetics, conversation analysis, dialectology, and sociolinguistics. It also plays an important role for several subfields of speech technology.
How long does it take to transcribe a 45 minute interview?
When it comes to individual transcribers, the average time to transcribe one hour of audio is approximately four hours. But, some transcribers quote four hours as the minimum since it can easily reach 10 hours. Transcription time by audio hour varies so much mostly because each audio file is different.
What is transcription example?
The definition of a transcription is something fully written out, or the process of fully writing something out. An example of a transcription is someone writing out their complete job description and responsibilities.
How do you transcribe professionally?
Basic Transcription Guidelines
- Accuracy. Only type the words that are spoken in the audio file.
- US English. Use proper US English capitalization, punctuation and spelling.
- Do Not Paraphrase.
- Do Not Add Additional Information.
- “Clean Up” Non-Verbatim Jobs.
- Verbatim Work Should Be Truly Verbatim.
Do you transcribe curse words?
If there are curse words in the audio, transcribe them word for word. Capitalize nouns followed by numbers or letters that are part of a series (E.g. Grade 8, Section B, Chapter 1, Article VI, et cetera). However, do not capitalize smaller divisions: page 1, paragraph 7, et cetera.
Why is transcribing so hard?
In transcription (medical or otherwise), the primary skill is in comprehending what the speakers are saying accurately. What makes this difficult are the various accents and sometimes the speed of dictation. If the problem is comprehension, you should listen to varied accents on a medium such as YouTube or television.
How long does it take to transcribe a 1 hour interview?
Making the interview transcription yourself takes approximately 5 – 6 hours for 1 audio hour. This option is the cheapest one but also the most time-consuming.
Which are the two types of transcription?
With Voxtab, your audio files will always be transcribed by language experts with in-depth knowledge in your field.
- Academic Transcription.
- Business Transcription.
- Conference Transcription.
- Interview Transcription.
- Focus Group Transcription.
- Market Research Transcription.
- Legal Transcription.
- Medical Transcription.
How fast do I need to type to be a transcriptionist?
While most transcriptionists can type at least 50 words per minute (wpm), there is not an official typing speed requirement for this profession. Transcriptionists who work with time-sensitive projects usually type 65 to 75 wpm.
What is an example of transcription?
What are the two types of transcription?
Types of Transcription
- Academic Transcription.
- Business Transcription.
- Conference Transcription.
- Interview Transcription.
- Focus Group Transcription.
- Market Research Transcription.
- Legal Transcription.
- Medical Transcription.
How long does it take to transcribe an hour of interview?
How long does it take to transcribe 1 hour of audio manually? Making the interview transcription yourself takes approximately 5 – 6 hours for 1 audio hour.