Interview transcription for research, journalism and hiring

Before you record

The easiest way to transcribe interview recordings well starts before you press record. Ask for consent and record it at the start, so the agreement is part of the file. Put the phone or recorder close to both of you, or give each person a microphone. A quiet room helps more than any setting later.

Phone and video call interviews

For a remote interview, record the call on your computer instead of holding a second phone next to the speaker. A Zoom, Teams or Meet recording catches both voices clearly, and the MP4 or M4A uploads directly.

For a phone interview, a call recording feature on your phone gives a cleaner file than speakerphone in a quiet room. Laws on recording calls differ by country and state, so ask before you record.

How to tell the interviewer's questions and the guest's answers apart

The transcript comes as lines, each with its timestamp. To make it read as questions and answers, type a short mark such as Q and A, or initials, at the start of each turn in the editor. The timestamps stay in place while you edit.

Interruptions are where most errors happen, so ask guests to let you finish a question before they answer.

What is the format of an interview transcript?

A good interview transcript has a timestamp at the start of each turn, a short mark for who is talking and the words as spoken. Kotosay gives you the timestamps, and you add the marks in the editor. Researchers often add a header with the date, the place and a participant code.

Decide early whether you need verbatim or clean text. If your method needs every um, pause and false start, add them by hand while you listen back to your recording. For a news story or a report, clean text is usually what you want.

Quotes with timestamps

Before you quote someone, use the timestamp to find the sentence in your recording and listen to it once. That catches a misheard name or a dropped word, and it is the habit that keeps a quote fair to the person who said it.

During the interview, jot down the counter on your recorder when the guest says something you may want to quote. Afterwards those times take you straight to the right lines in the transcript.

How do I transcribe interviews for qualitative research?

• Transcribe interviews one file per participant and name each file with a code.
• Replace names and places with codes after export, and keep the key in a separate file.
• Export DOCX with Unlimited. NVivo, ATLAS.ti and MAXQDA all import Word documents.
• Check that your ethics approval allows recordings to go to a transcription service.

TipKeep the original audio until your analysis is done. The timestamps in the transcript show where to find each passage in your recording.

Candidate interviews for a hiring panel

For hiring, interview transcription gives every reviewer the same answers to read. Tell candidates at the start that the call is recorded and transcribed, and why. Add Q and A marks in the editor, then share a PDF with Unlimited.

Delete the transcript from your account when your company's retention period for applications ends. You can remove one file or the whole account at any time.

Interview transcription for long sessions

A free account transcribes the first 5 minutes of each file, 3 files a day. For one interview, Single file opens the whole recording for $4.99, paid once. A project with many interviews fits Unlimited better. It takes files up to 10 hours, runs 3 at once and costs $9.99 a month, or $119 paid once a year. As interview transcription software it is one plan for one person, and you cancel in one click when the project ends.