Strict Verbatim Transcription Guidelines

Strict Verbatim Guide

Grammar and Contractions

No grammar to be corrected. Contractions can be transcribed as spoken.

Stutters

Stutters should be indicated, but not super-accurately, for example:

"I work at the, the farm" is fine, rather than "I work at t-t-the, f-farm"

If the stutter involves entire words: "the, the dog", then they should be separated by commas: "I, I, I can't find my pen", not by dashes: "the- the dog"

If it's letters "t-t-the f-farm" then dashes is fine

Verbal Fillers

The majority of erms and ers, etc. need to be transcribed

Slang words and colloquialisms to be transcribed as spoken

Use: Er, Erm, Hmm, Hmmhmm, Aha (Please stick to these examples for consistency)

'Hmmhmm' should be used for affirmative sounds

Interjections should be mostly included as spoken

Speaker Interjections

Speaker interjections like affirmations or assurances should almost always be transcribed unless very frequent – in which case by necessity a proportion should be left out.

Colloquialisms and Slang

Colloquialisms like 'gonna', 'dunno', 'ain't', can be transcribed as spoken

Make sure if contracted, these are spelled correctly:

'til instead of 'till'

'Cause not cos

Regional Dialect

Regional dialect is retained, where relevant, e.g. 'cannae', 'bairn'

However, mispronounced (due to regional accent, rather than an actual dialect) like 'meself' should be corrected – 'myself'

General Slang

General slang like 'yeah' and 'gonna' can be written out as spoken in strict verbatim. In standard format, use your discretion which suits the transcript best.

Key Principle

Transcribe exactly as spoken with minimal editing for readability.