CEA Scholars: Mothers on the Rise

Learning Transcription as Part of The MOR Story Telling Project

Background: Transcription and Story Telling Project

What is Transcription?

Transcription refers to the process of creating written transcripts of video or audio media. Transcripts should be able to be read and understood with or without their original media present. Depending on the context transcription can involve explicit word for word copying of the media it is based upon or more relaxed trasncribing where readibility and meaning are more prioritized. There are many different purposes for transcripts and oftentimes the process must be tailored depending on the expectations and uses for the final transcripts.

MOR Story Telling Project

The MOR storytelling project my transcriptions contributed to the goal of informing its audience of MOR's impact and what mothers transitioning back into their communities experience. The transcripts of the interviews included were expected to be readble and prioritize understanding of the experience's of the interviewees. This context affected how I went about creating the transcripts and what the final product came out as.

My transcriptions contributed to the goal of informing its audience of MOR's impact and the stigma surrounding previously incarcerated mothers

My Experience Transcribing for The Story Telling Project: MOR

Prior to joining the MOR Story Telling Project as a CEA, I had some experience with transcription through working on a different Fairbanks project. This project focused on how structural racism had on the lives of eight African American women. The transcripts I completed for this project were based on eight video interviews that were also being analyzed by expert analysis of the stories being told in the interviews. Due to the context of the project, the transcripts I wrote for this project were very academically oriented and prioritized exact congruence with their video interview counterpart, with the goal being to create transcripts that contained all the details contained in the media discussed by the scholars.

The highly detailed and specific nature of the transcripts I had previously worked on differed greatly from those created through this current project with MOR. The audience of MOR is not primarily academic and there are no accompanying analyses, so the goal of these transcripts diverged from my past experience. When working on this project I learned how to create transcripts with a focus on understandability and general meaning. The majority of the transcript was still copied from the media, but this project taught me how to edit the speech to improve the quality in text form while retaining the rhetorical context of the spoken word.

This project taught me how to edit speech to improve the quality in text form while retaining the rhetorical context of the spoken word

As a CEA I also learned how to approach the technical aspect of transcript creation, including using technology to create base copies of the media and implantation of transcripts into their final presentation. In my prior experience with transcription the interviews I transcribed already had initial speech-to-text copies of the media that I could modify; however, in the format the interviews were in for this project I did not have access to these copies.

To overcome this challenge I researched different methods to create text summaries of the media. These methods included: Youtube and Zoom closed captioning generation, manual copying of the audio, and text-to-speech programs.

Figure 1: Pros and Cons list of transcript production methods

Ultimately, speech-to-text was decided to be the preferred method for summary creation. After selecting text-to-speech as the appropriate method to create text summaries to modify into transcripts, the transcription process could begin.

I utilized SpeechTexter, a free speech-to-text platform. Visit the site here to see what the process looks like.

Being able to edit text into a more appropriate version given specific context is a valuable skill

As I completed these transcripts I found I got more skilled at the process. I am particularly proud of my growth in the area of editing for readability while preserving meaning. It can be difficult to decide which elements of spoken word affect the readability of the written transcript to the point that modification is necessary. After deciding an area needs adjustment it can also be difficult to make changes without modifying the meaning being conveyed. However this is a necessary step to ensure that the final transcript meets the expectations set. Primarily being generally understandable to the audience and reflecting the meaning of the media it is based upon.

This skill is transferable to other segments of my academic and professional career. Being able to edit text into a more appropriate version given specific context is a valuable skill, even without the constraints of matching media. Additionally the knowledge of the technology that can be used to create transcripts of audio is useful for a variety of purposes including keeping meeting records and research applications. Additionally, there are some field-specific applications of transcription in Psychology, such as the production of qualitative data, which can often be located in spoken word, so accurate and meaning-driven transcription would be a valuable skill.

Transcription: The Process

I split the transcription process into 4 steps that were utilized to create each transcript:

Script Creation using a text-to-speech program
Script Review using media to ensure accuracy
Script Editing for readbaility and to preserve meaning
Final Review of transcript using media to ensure accuracy + highlighting pullout quotes

Figure 2: Flow chart of transcript creation process

1) Script Creation

The goal of this step is to obtain a basic script of the media being transcribed. This can be done using a varity of techniques; however, in this project speech to text was used to produce the script.

Figure 3: Set up for using speech-to-text program

2) Script Review

The script created in the step prior to this is reviewed for accuracy to the media. This step often takes up the bulk of the time with revisions being hefty for poor accuracy creation methods.

Figure 4: Setup on my computer screen during the review process

3) Script Editing

Alter the script for readability while maintaining meaning. Often times correcting verbally appropriate strings of words that do not translate well to text. Must maintain the sentiment expressed by the words in the closest form possible.

Figure 5: Example of an in-process script editing

4) Final Review + Highlighting

Review the transcript using the media to ensure accuracy and that meaning is maintained. Final passthrough for errors of any kind throughout the transcript. In this step also highlighting powerful phrases that stir emotion or are very impactful for highlighting in the final Story Telling Project artifact.

Figure 6: Example of completed trancript with pull-out quotes highlighted

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