Intro Page
Transcription Services
Audio mediums we cover
Prices
Terms & Conditions
Confidentiality
How to pay
Links
Contact details
Company Profile
Client’s testimonials
Personal Testimony
| One to one interviews | Nvivo format transcripts | ||
| University research | Telephone interviews | ||
| Police interviews | Radio interviews | ||
| Speeches | Presentations | ||
| Seminars | Journalists interviews | ||
| Television interviews | Hearings | ||
| Tribunals | Memoirs |
We have been used by Universities throughout the UK (and France) to transcribe one to one (and multiple participant) interviews, either as totally verbatim transcripts or as intelligent verbatim transcripts (leaving out the ‘er’, ‘um’ utterances etc).
In particular, where large scale interviews have taken place and a reliable service is required, we have been project managed these assignments to take away the headaches normally associated with these projects – and alleviated the universities of the usual burden of having to find several transcribers to provide a turnaround that suits their research deadlines and then having to send out numerous invoices to firms around the country and having to then collate tapes as they come in sporadically from the same firms.
We offer discounts for universities and research units and take over the project management tasks to make the whole process smooth. We select the appropriate team, convert audio cassettes (please see note below) and ensure the team follow our client’s instructions regarding layout and content requirements. Confidentiality is never at issue here (click here to see an extract from our contract) and our ability to source material from the internet means our transcripts as a accurate and precise as they can be.
Tape conversion: We encourage our clients to ‘go digital’, as this cuts down on our project management tasks and ultimately reduces the overall bill to our clients. See below for what we offer freely as part of our project management package.
With our project management
- Free of charge to you –
Without our project management
- You pay someone to do the following –
Using our team of professional transcribers
Each member of the team experienced in verbatim and NVivo interview transcription
We are able to meet your deadlines
Fixed fees in advance
All your recordings sent to one place
Managing the layout to be consistent with your requirements
Regular updates and improvement of audio where necessary
One invoice for whole assignment
Finding transcribers to cover your work
Finding transcribers experienced with NVivo format or verbatim interview transcription (some transcribers ‘think’ if they can do audio typing they can deal with verbatim interview transcription – often they cannot)
Getting each transcriber to agree to a deadline
Getting each transcriber to agree to a set price
Distributing tapes to each transcriber, including logging where they went, postage fees to each address, logging when they are returned, chasing them if they are late.
Chasing to find out how work is progressing with the transcribers
Dependent on the equipment used by the transcriber – no improvement to poor audio
Separate invoices from each transcriber, collation of payment amongst the transcribers used.
We offer all of the above project management skills free of charge. You simply book our services and send us your audio and we do the rest. For the first five tapes sent to us we charge no conversion fee. From the sixth tape onwards we charge a nominal fee for conversion of the tapes to Internet transferable compressed .wav files. We provide you with a table showing you how this nominal surcharge is applied. We are happy to send you information showing how much you save by using digital sound recordings (or converting the tapes yourself – we even provide instructions how to do this on request). Our conversion fees are still cheaper than employing someone part-time to do project management
If you want to ‘go digital’ we can advise how best to do this. We’re always happy to help our clients – it’s our friendly approach and ‘go the extra mile’ mentality that keeps our clients returning time and again and recommending us to their colleagues.
Interview transcription covers a wide range of subjects. We have covered interview transcription as simple as telephone conversations, covert recordings of conversations for legal purposes, research interviews for universities, tribunal hearings, hearings (with up to 10 participants), radio interviews, witness statements and journalists interviews. We can record interviews straight from the internet if required and transcribe at a later date. If you’re looking for a company that knows how to set out NVivo interview scripts, can transcribe from virtually any audio medium, then DeeWP & Audiosec is the company to contact.
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- I have 30 one to one interviews on mini disc, but we don’t want to send the discs through the post, how do we get the recordings to you?
- What kind of a discount do we get if we’re a registered charity or academic/research unit?
- My budget is very tight, can you give me a further discount? Are your prices flexible.
- My project is of a sensitive or highly confidential nature, can I secure just your services rather than distribution to freelancers?
- You say you specialise in university work, how many universities have you worked for?
Click on the questions opposite to read my replies.
Dee Briston Manager and Project Manager for DeeWP & Audiosec – Professional Transcription Services. Verbatim and edited transcripts. Always first class service, with the “perfectionist” mentality that keeps clients returning and bringing others with them.
- How long will it take to turn my work around?
- How do you ensure confidentiality
- What quality controls do you use?
- Why don’t you charge an hourly rate?
- When do we pay you? Do you need a deposit?
- Is there anything else I ought to know?
Q: I have 30 one to one interviews on mini disc, but we don’t want to send the discs through the post, how do we get the recordings to you?
A: Record the mini disc recordings to your computer. Visit here http://www.deewp.co.uk/uploadfiles.htm#Converting to find out how to do this. Then contact me to find out the best compression rate for saving the files and sending them across via our upload system using a free guest pass that I can issue you with. I also issue you with a guide as to how to use the upload system. Please note the wrong bit rate or kb/sec can cause your once clear audio to become fuzzy and inaudible. Seek my advice first.
Q: My budget is very tight, can you give me a further discount? Are your prices flexible.
A: There are a number of companies that offer no discount, and some that offer discounts for bulk work. Large projects involve a lot of project management and committing to a client’s work means turning away projects that may be more lucrative, but we commit to the work we are involved in 100%. All of our transcribers work online (or “virtually”). They run their own business and are self-employed professionals. We do not use home typists, but trained transcribers who work diligently and are dedicated to providing excellent transcripts. Project management involves organising a team of available transcribers, collating and cataloguing the tapes, converting the originals to a portable media format to send out across our encrypted internet service (we NEVER send out your originals and can burn the portable media to CD on request – these audio files are deleted from our files after 7 days to maintain the privacy of our clients), knowing who has the audio files, when they have been returned and then dispatching them to the client, after completing an audio report for the client. All of this is incorporated into the price of your project. You could compare us to an NHS service or a private clinic. You can go “NHS” and wait in line for your work to be completed and not feel any different from the next ‘client’ or you can go “Private”, where you are treated as an individual, where you are informed every part of the way what is happening and receive the best. After all, if you were working for a company that expected you to do more work but refused to pay you what your service was worth your commitment to your employer would soon become strained.
Q: My project is of a sensitive or highly confidential nature, can I secure just your services rather than distribution to freelancers?
A: Yes. Each client is issued with a project booking form and you are given the opportunity to decline the use of freelancers on your project. Your work will not be given to anyone else without your prior consent. For sensitive or highly confidential work I am pleased to work solely on the clients behalf to complete a project.
Q: You say you specialise in university work, how many universities have you worked for?
A: The figures for this are changing constantly, but to give you just a small sample of who we have worked for:
Q: How long will it take to turn my work around?
A: That will depend on the amount of audio you send across and when. The team here consists of Dee Briston (the owner of DeeWP & Audiosec) and 20 freelancers. Between this team we can meet most deadlines, given reasonable notice. For an example, a 70 hour project took us less than three weeks to complete – all project managed in-house.
Q: How do you ensure confidentiality?
A: All freelancers sign an agreement with DeeWP & Audiosec, and part of this agreement is following the stipulations of our confidentiality agreement. A confidentiality agreement is available to all our clients, upon request, and this covers both DeeWP & Audiosec and their freelancers.
Q: What quality controls do you use?
A: Spell checking, internet research and proof reading are all part of our service. Individual freelancers are responsible for their own proofreading prior to return to the offices here. If the audio is clear then a full proof read is carried out with the audio, if the audio is unclear then a full proof read with the audio is not possible. As poor audio takes considerably longer to transcribe, it is not feasible for us to do a full proof read with the audio at the end of the transcription and meet deadlines. Our fees are structured to give clients a fair, across the board payment plan.
Q: Why don’t you charge an hourly rate?
A: With an hourly rate it is not possible to give clients an accurate quote. No two tapes contain the same content or are of identical quality and no two transcribers will type at the same speed. If a client gives us two tapes of 60 minutes length to transcribe, the price could vary with an hourly rate. With a per audio minute rate the client knows well in advance how much their project will cost to complete and organise their budget accordingly. You cannot “erroneously” be charged for interruptions during the typing of the transcript such as telephone calls or toilet breaks, you cannot be charged for the typist having a slow day or faltering over odd words. Our fees include internet research to find spellings/place names etc and a full proof read (see above for restrictions to this).
Q: When do we pay you? Do you need a deposit?
A: Payment is 30 days for universities and organisations, 14 days for students/individuals. If your organisation has a different payment policy simply let us know at the time of booking so that our accounting system doesn’t send you a “little reminder” that payment is overdue. Most organisations are not in a position to pay a deposit and so long as a booking form is completed and returned prior to commencement of your project, no deposit will be asked for. Larger projects will be invoiced for regularly if your accounting system uses a cheque run system, to avoid waiting on large invoices being settled. Please remember that you might need an authorisation number or a purchase order number from your accounts dept.
Q: Is there anything else I ought to know?