Formatting Guidelines for Applicants

This document is a condensed version of our full set of guidelines, however,

everything you need for this assessment stage will be covered here. Should you
be successful in your application, you will then have access to (and be required to
study) the full set of guidelines which will cover all areas in much more depth,
along with other issues you will come across.

Contents

Template........................................................................................................... 2
Accuracy...........................................................................................................3
Punctuation and Grammar..................................................................................4
Identifying the speakers.....................................................................................4
One Moderator...................................................................................................................... 4
One Respondent.................................................................................................................... 4
Two Respondents.................................................................................................................. 5
More Than Two Respondents................................................................................................ 5
Timecodes.........................................................................................................6
Inaudibles and Phonetic Guesses........................................................................7
Formatting........................................................................................................8
Spellings................................................................................................................................ 8
Brand Names........................................................................................................................ 8
Paragraphs............................................................................................................................ 8
Numbers............................................................................................................................... 8
Currency............................................................................................................................... 8
Time...................................................................................................................................... 8
Dates..................................................................................................................................... 8
Percentages.......................................................................................................................... 8
When speech is cut off or changes direction.........................................................................9
Talking over each other......................................................................................................... 9
Stutterings and repeated words.......................................................................................... 10
Filler words.......................................................................................................................... 10
Quotation Marks.................................................................................................................. 10
Inverted Commas................................................................................................................ 10
Audio that starts mid-sentence........................................................................................... 10
Additional Comments.......................................................................................................... 11
Adverts/recordings and information played or read out......................................................11
Laughter.............................................................................................................................. 12
Agreement.......................................................................................................................... 12

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Formatting Guidelines for Applicants

Template
Use the Take Note template provided to undertake the audio transcription assessment. This
is the same template you would use when working for us, should you be successful. The font
used is Times New Roman, size 12. The transcript must be fully justified on both sides,
aligning the text to both the left and right hand margins, as demonstrated in this document.
You must use Microsoft Word. Other word processing programs will distort our template.

Example:

If your audio was called

Your file name must be the same as the audio file group_6_manchester_
File
you are typing, minus the audio extension (.mp3, females_18-25.wav,
Name .WMA, .wav, etc.). you would type
box Do not change the size or shape of this box. It is group_6_manchester_
fine for longer file names to exceed one line. females_18-25 into the
File Name box, and use
this name when saving
your file.
This must always be filled in and be in non-bold.
Note the number and genders of the moderators Example:
and respondents, along with the quality of the
audio. Transcriber Comments:
Transcri Bring our attention to any issues or difficulties you One female moderator and
ber encountered while transcribing, e.g. uncertainty one secondary male
Comme with regards to brand names, place names, etc. moderator. Two female
nts Please note that Transcriber Comments go back to respondents. Good quality
the client, so this is not an appropriate place to note audio with occasional
negative comments about the moderators
interference from a mobile
ability/accents of the participants, etc. If
necessary, these comments can be noted in your phone.
email when submitting your completed file.
Key At this stage, this should be left as it appears in the template.
Ensure you give your file a thorough proofread prior to saving for the last time.
Scroll through the file carefully, looking out for typos and other errors before
saving for the last time.
Saving Ensure a spellcheck has been completed. All red lines should be omitted once
the you have made sure all of your spellings are correct.
Docume Tick off the checklist to make sure you have captured all areas.
nt Make sure you save your document with the same name used in your File
Name box.
All files must be returned in a .doc format only. Documents should be saved
in the Word 97-2003 or Word 97-2004 document format, which will append
the .doc file extension.

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Formatting Guidelines for Applicants

Accuracy
In full transcripts you must capture everything that is being said in intelligible sentences
that flow and are sufficiently punctuated. The most vital part of this role is that your
transcript is typed word for word, and therefore accuracy must be your number one priority
at all times.

There are some areas which dont add anything to the transcript and/or can make it difficult
to read. To avoid this, we ask that you omit these areas and have detailed these allowable
omissions below.

Area: They say: You type:

Unnecessary
false starts that
are later I dont know if I-, I dont like that one
reworded/repeate there.
I dont like that one there.
d or contain no
information:
Yes, yes, I think so. Yes, I think so. Yes, I think so.
Unnecessary
repetitions:
No, no. No.
I went to one shop and they-,

Yes.

Told me they had run out so-,

Unnecessary Oh no.
interruptions or I went to one shop and they told me they
acknowledgement had run out so I had to go to another
s that are causing
I had to go to another shop.
shop. I didnt enjoy doing that because I
speech to be split havent got much time.
up: Okay.

I didnt enjoy doing that-,

Right.

Because I havent got much time.

The occasional
filler word if these
I like it, because, you know, it seems to I like it, because it seems to speak to me
are used too
liberally, i.e. twice
speak to me, sort of, in a funny sort of way, in a funny sort of way, you know, like
in the same you know, like the previous advert? the previous advert?
sentence:
All uses of Did you like that one? Did you like that one?
umm/ahh/err/uh
, etc.
If mmm is used
Mmm, it was really nice. Yes, it was really nice.
as a positive
response to What about this one? What about this one?

3
Formatting Guidelines for Applicants

something, you
must change to
yes. Umm no, not so much. No, not so much.

Punctuation and Grammar

Ensure all sentences are well structured and adequately punctuated.
Make sure your sentences are not too long, i.e. no longer than three lines.
There must always be a punctuation mark at the end of every sentence,
even if it is only one word long or the sentence ends with a
ph/inaudible/talking over each other format.
There should be two spaces after a full stop. We do understand that not
everybody is used to this and its quite hard to break the habit but please
Punctuat
ensure this is consistent throughout.
ion Commas must be used correctly so that sentences read well and you are
reflecting the meaning of what is being said.
We do not allow the use of colons (:) semi-colons (;) dashes (-) ellipses ()
or brackets in the participants speech. Please find suitable ways to
punctuate without the use of these.
Keep the use of exclamation marks (!) to an absolute minimum.
We use single quotation marks, not double. Please see the formatting
section for more information on this.
It is very important that all transcripts are grammatically correct.
Ensure you fully understand when, where and how apostrophes should be
used.
Brush up on your grammar skills to ensure there are no mistakes with areas
such as its/its, your/youre, theyre/their/there, etc.
Please avoid starting sentences with And/But. See how these can be
Grammar restructured or, if nothing is lost, omitted. Many sentences will still make
sense without these words at the beginning, so see where these can be
restructured where possible. In the interest of avoiding overly long
sentences and to preserve the flavour of an individuals speech, its
sometimes acceptable to start a sentence with and or but, although this is
not good grammatical practice and should be avoided whenever possible.
The grammar checker on Word may pick up on some errors but not all. At
times, it will even give us a mistake as an option so please do not rely on
this.

Identifying the speakers

There should always be a blank line between speakers.
TAKE The template is set so when you hit Enter, a blank line already
NOTE appears. If this does not work for you, ensure you press Enter
twice.

One Moderator
Always use bold font for the moderators speech. Moderators never need to be identified by
gender or name; the bold formatting will suffice.

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Formatting Guidelines for Applicants

One Respondent

In the case where there is only

one unidentified respondent,
Hello, how are you?
please note their gender in the
Transcriber Comments and
leave out any identifiers in the Fine, thank you.
body of the text.
If the respondent is identified by Susan Smith: Hi, my name is Susan Smith. I work for Big
their first name and surname, Company C.
use this in full the first time
they speak, then use their Do you enjoy your job?
initials for all subsequent
speech. SS: Yes, Ive worked there for five years.
Susan: Hi, my name is Susan.
Should you only have the
speakers first name, please Hi Susan. How old are you?
use it in full throughout your file.
Susan: Im 27 next week.

All speaker identifiers (F/M/Name/Initials) should

always be followed by a colon and two spaces,
TAKE
e.g.
NOTE
F: Im 29 and I am a nurse.

Two Respondents
If two distinguishable respondents are identified by name, please format as described
above.
If there are two unidentified but distinguishable female respondents, use F1: and F2:
before their speech, changing the F to M if they are male.
For two unidentified and undistinguishable respondents of the same gender, no ID is
required. Their gender should already be noted in the Transcriber Comments.
If there is one female and one male respondent, use F: and M:

More Than Two Respondents

In focus groups with more than two respondents, there is no need to try and identify the
speakers (unless youve specifically been asked to do this). It will take far too long and most
likely be inaccurate/inconsistent. In mixed groups, gender ID only (M: or F: ) is fine. Again,
if everyone in the group is the same gender, no ID is required in the transcript as you will
have already noted this in your Transcriber Comments.

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Formatting Guidelines for Applicants

Timecodes
This comes at the very start of your file, before you start the transcript.
It must be on a line of its own, in regular text (not bold) and must reflect
the precise time in the audio at which you started typing.
Starter The format is (TC: HH:MM:SS) - there should be a space after TC: and
Timecode colons must be used between the hours, minutes and seconds.
o For example, if nobody was speaking for the first one minute and
fifteen seconds of your audio, your Starter Timecode would be (TC:
00:01:15)
No punctuation is required after the Starter Timecode.
At every ten minutes, we need to note a Ten-Minute Timecode so the client
can jump to certain parts of the audio with ease.
The format is (TC: HH:MM:SS) i.e. the same format as the Starter Timecode.
These must be placed exactly at every ten minutes from the start of the
audio, not every ten minutes from where you started typing.
Ten-
o For example, when you get to ten minutes into the audio, you would
minute insert (TC: 00:10:00) into the text, (TC: 00:20:00) for twenty minutes,
Timecode etc. When you get to an hour, you would insert (TC: 01:00:00) into
s the text, and so on.
Timecodes go in the body of the text, mid-sentence but never mid-word.
These should always match the formatting of the text around them, i.e. in
regular text if occurring in respondents speech, bold if in moderators.
These must be absolutely accurate to the second.
Punctuate, if applicable, before Ten-Minute Timecodes, not after.

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Formatting Guidelines for Applicants

Inaudibles and Phonetic Guesses

For one missed word the format is :
o (? 00.00)
There will inevitably be For more than one missed word or a short phrase the format
a point when you just
is :
cant make a word out,
o (inaudible 00.00)
or youre not 100%
For a missed phrase that stretches over more than three
confident of what was
said. We have specific seconds the format is :
guidelines on how to o (inaudible 00.00-00.00)
format times like this: For a phonetic guess, if the word you are not sure about is
suspicious you would format it as :
o suspicious (ph 00.00)
TAKE NOTE
All timecodes must be absolutely accurate to the second.
Formatting should match the speech in which they occur, i.e. regular if in respondents
speech, bold if in moderators.
Use full stops in these timecodes and not colons, unlike the Starter and Ten-Minute
Timecodes.
Punctuation, if applicable, should come after an inaudible/missed word/ph guess, even if
they are at the end of a sentence.
If the sentence begins with an inaudible, it needs to have a capital letter.
If a missed word/inaudible/ph guess occurs before the hour mark, use a four digit
timecode indicating the minutes and seconds e.g. (? 00.47) or (inaudible 12.16). If it
occurs after the hour mark use a six digit format indicating the hours, minutes and
seconds, e.g. (ph 01.12.07) or (? 02.15.06).
Try to have as few inaudibles as possible. Make an educated phonetic guess as far as you
can if youre at all unsure, but do ensure this fits in with the context of the sentence and
makes sense. Use the Internet to research the phonetic guess with various spellings to
see if you can work out what the word/phrase might be. Quite often, even if its
incorrect, the client will realise what you were trying to get at. Although we always need
you to use the phonetic guess format when necessary, if what you have sounds right, and
fits in with the context of the sentence, then please trust your own judgement as these all
need to be checked.
You only need to use the ph guess format the first time you use the word youre
phonetically guessing, i.e. you dont have to use it every time you use the word from
then on. You do however need to ensure youve kept the spelling of the word consistent
throughout the rest of the transcript. Please make a note in your Transcriber Comments if
there is something youre really unsure of so the client can check it and change if
necessary.

EXAMPLES
If you missed one word at 3 minutes and
One missed I went to the (? 03.12) but I didnt
12 seconds in the audio, it would be
word like it.
formatted as
More than one If you missed more than one word or a
He told me that he (inaudible
missed word short phrase at 14 minutes and 56
or seconds in the audio, it would be
14.56) and I thought that was
a short phrase formatted as okay.

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Formatting Guidelines for Applicants

Missed phrase
If you missed a number of words that
that
stretched over more than three The other one is a black colour
stretches over
seconds and went from 53 minutes and but it looks (inaudible 53.14-
more
14 seconds to 53 minutes and 22 seconds 53.22). Which one is best?
than three
in the audio, it would be formatted as.
seconds
If the word you have phonetically
Phonetic guessed at 1 hour, 13 minutes and 12 I think that one is satisfactory (ph
guess seconds was satisfactory, it would be 01.13.12) but its not the best.
formatted as

Formatting
The quality of our transcripts comes down to accuracy and consistency. Nothing looks more
professional than being able to return an entire project of transcripts to a client with each
one formatted exactly the same as the one before it. For this reason, we have a firm set of
guidelines that we ask our transcribers to follow. Below is a list of any specific formatting
areas you may come across during your assessment and beyond, with examples of how to
incorporate these into your file shown in the right-hand column, if applicable.

Spellings
ALWAYS run a spellcheck when you have completed the transcription, ensuring brands,
names, etc. are correct, and eliminate all red lines from your file before saving.
Change to: okay, yes, because,
Use of OK, yeah, cause, till, all right, etcetera.
until, alright, etc.
Use English spellings, even if the speaker isnt recognise instead of recognize,
English. realise instead of realize, etc.
Brand Names
Look up and research every brand/name/term, etc. on the Internet to ensure they are
spelt/capitalised correctly and do be sure you keep spellings consistent throughout.
Look at how the name is spelt/capitalised in the body of text on official websites, i.e.
dont just use the logo.
Paragraphs
No more than three lines per sentence. No more than fifteen lines per paragraph.
If the speaker talks for longer than fifteen lines at any one time, find a suitable place to
start a new paragraph.
Dont unnecessarily split up into very short paragraphs for anything under fifteen lines.
When you start a new paragraph for the same speaker, they do not need to be identified
again.
Numbers
Numbers from one to twenty must be spelt out. one / seven / nineteen
Use digits from 21 upwards. 23 / 57 / 156
For amounts from 1,000 up to a million use digits
1,800 / 16,000 / 250,000
with commas between each thousand.
For amounts over a million, use a mixture of digits
1 million / 2.5 billion
and words.
If the number is below 21 but part of a brand or
name, then a digit should be used to reflect the Channel 4 / Radio 1
exact spelling of the brand/name.

8
Formatting Guidelines for Applicants

Currency
Use digits with the appropriate currency symbol. 10p / 1.50 / $2,000 / 50,000
For amounts over a million, use a mixture of digits
1.2 million / $64 billion
and words.
Time
If the speaker only uses a number for the time,
e.g. I got up at seven, then digits with a colon 7:00
must be used in the format of a twelve-hour clock.
If they use oclock then this must all be written
seven oclock
out.
Dates
Use digits and words for dates.
6th April / 23rd September
Numbers do not need to be spelt out.
Percentages
Use digits and the percentage symbol. 7.5% / 60%
When speech is cut off or changes direction
In the case of false starts, a speaker changes direction mid-sentence, or they get cut off
before finishing their sentence, we use the format -, (dash+comma) after the last word
spoken, with no space in between.
If the -, format is used mid-sentence for the same F: Ive always liked that one, because its
speaker, carry on in lower case as this does not very nice to wear when youre going on-,
denote the end of the sentence, merely a change dont you think its well priced?
in direction.
M: Affordable, yes. I like the more
If it is used because another speaker has taken
expensive one because my mother-,
over, then their speech must begin with a capital
letter.
F: No, the expensive one is rubbish.
Ideally, we want to use the -, format as sparingly Do you like that one the most or-,
as possible. It is often human nature to trail off or
change direction while speaking, and so this will Yes. I like it more than the red one, so thats
occur frequently. nice and-, so, yes.
What we dont want is a file full of the -, format Should be changed to:
which will make it difficult to read. If what you
have could be read as a full sentence, and nothing
Do you like that one the most?
is lost in context, please punctuate accordingly
and move on. Removing unnecessary false starts
and/or words that lead to a sentence trailing off F: Yes. I like it more than the red one, so
will legitimately and significantly cut down on the thats nice, so yes.
use of these without anything important being
omitted.
TAKE NOTE: We never use -. (dash+full stop) or -? (dash+question mark)
Talking over each other
At times you may not be able to work out what either party is saying if the speakers are
talking over one another.
When this occurs, use the format (talking over
each other 00.00) indicating the exact time at
I jumped at the chance to (talking over each
which this occurred.
Use starting and ending timecodes if this stretches
other 01.06.14-01.06.21) and then he didnt
over three seconds. Use four digits before the come back.
hour mark, six after.

9
Formatting Guidelines for Applicants

If it comes at the beginning of a sentence, use a (Talking over each other 16.14) and then I
capital letter. thought, Wow, thats really good.
I didnt like it. I thought it was (talking over
Punctuate after the brackets if applicable.
each other 04.05).
In focus groups only (a moderator with a larger
group of respondents) this format is only required
when absolutely necessary, i.e. should it happen F: I went to the garage across the road and
mid-sentence or it is obvious something has been they told me that my car would need
missed. You can omit the (talking over each replacing because of the gear (talking over
other) format if it is just a sentence on its each other 25.41).
own.
The above would need to include this
Quite likely, you will come across a lot of talking format as the sentence is missing
over each other in these groups and sometimes it something, but the occurrence below
is just impossible to hear whats happening until could be deleted if you were unable to
the moderator quietens them all down. If it hear anybodys speech within this
doesnt add anything to the transcript then there period, as it adds nothing to the
is no need to include this. Remember that what transcript
the client really needs is the respondents speech
to flow, as it is their view they are most interested M: I didnt like that one that much. (Talking
in. Use your common sense to see if it adds over each other 41.17).
anything helpful at all to the transcript, but
remember this rule is for focus groups only. F: Neither did I.
In all other files, it must be included each
time it occurs.
TAKE NOTE: If talking over each other is the reason that a speaker is cut off, the -,
format is not required as well.
Stutterings and repeated words
If they are unnecessary and theyve got no e.g. You would change: I hope-, I
relevance to the context of whats being said, you hope you can read this, to: I hope you can
may omit them. read this.
If it has got relevance and strengthens the
meaning of the sentence, then it must be typed.
I love it very, very much.

Filler words
Youre allowed to omit some filler words (you
know, sort of, etc.) here and there if they are too
liberally used (i.e. more than once in the same
sentence) and are making sentences difficult to
I like, you know, the way he says his name.
read. They should be in between commas as they
dont usually flow with the speech.
You would be permitted to omit
some uses of you know or sort
of from the sentence below as
theyre being too liberally used
Dont leave them all out because theyre and are making the sentence
important for reflecting the speakers flavour of appear clumsy.
speech.
Do you think, sort of, youd like that car
yourself, or do you, you know, think youd
prefer the more, you know, expensive one?

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Formatting Guidelines for Applicants

Quotation Marks
We use single (not double) quotation marks for
direct speech/thoughts/ feelings, etc. Include a
comma before the first quotation mark, start with
a capital letter, and punctuate before closing.
Sentences or words that are being relayed but
arent direct quotes do not require quotation
marks.
Inverted Commas
When speakers are referring to a snippet of text/
advert/ website, etc. which are not their own
words, we use the inverted comma format. This is
exactly the same key on your keyboard as the
symbol used for quotation marks, however, the
layout for this is slightly different.
My father used to say to me, Why are you
being so difficult?
I thought to myself, Thats a nice one.
He said to me that he couldnt go.
would not become:
He said to me, That he couldnt go.
When you see the word alive, what does
that mean to you?
Just do it is Nikes infamous tagline.

Use a preceding comma before opening, only if
applicable. You dont need to start on a capital
letter unless it is the beginning of a sentence or it
is the name of something/someone. Unlike
quotation marks, punctuate outside inverted
commas, if applicable.
Audio that starts mid-sentence
If your audio ever starts with speech already mid-
flow, then you need to start from the first word
that you hear. Begin with a capital letter, as you
would any other sentence. No other formatting is
required. Do, however, be sure to make a note of
this in your Transcriber Comments so that the
client is aware and they dont think weve missed
anything out.
Additional Comments
If for any reason you are not transcribing, then you must make a note of why in
brackets and include timecodes for this period so we can see why youve not
been typing.
Additional comments should be left in the body of
the text, matching the format in which they
appear, and do not need to be on a new line.
If the moderator leaves the room for five minutes
and the respondents have a chat about something
completely irrelevant, this doesnt need to be
transcribed but a reason and timecodes must be
noted.
Only comment on events that are meaningful to
the transcript, for example, if a phone rings but is
ignored, or someone asks for a drink or to go to
the bathroom, it is not necessary to comment on
it.
Look at the page headed money is key. Is
that something you approve of?
Who thinks the live to earn line is the best
one?
Transcriber Comments: One male
moderator. One female and two male
respondents. Good quality audio which
begins mid-sentence.
(TC: 00:00:00)
Because of the timings. Anyway, that didnt
sit right with me.
Were going to do a group session now.
(Group undertake task 52.41-58.14).
What have we come up with?
M: Excuse me one second. (Respondent
takes call 01.03.16-01.05.42). Sorry about
that.
I just need to go next door and see if there
are any questions. (Moderator leaves
room 34.06-39.15). Okay, where were we?
M: I prefer that. Can I nip to the loo?
Sure. Do the rest of you prefer this one?
should be

11
Formatting Guidelines for Applicants

M: I prefer that.

Do the rest of you prefer this one?

Adverts/recordings and information played or read out
Where something out of context, e.g. an advert, recording or piece of text is played or
relayed, we do not need to type up the whole of this as the client already has this
information.
However, we do need to be able to make it clear what is being referred to.
Leave a blank line and type the first couple of The next advert is quite a long one. See
sentences in regular italics (not bold) on a line of its what you think of this.
own. Then put (Advert/Video/ Recording
played/read to group 00.00-00.00) in regular text A small boy peers through a window. It is
(not italics) so that the client knows what was snowing outside and you can hear children
played or read out, and from where (timecode) to playing in the street. (Advert played to
pick up the audio again. Punctuate after brackets group 12.14-13.11).
and leave another blank line before resuming
speech. Tell me, first thoughts?
This is their latest campaign.
You can also use this format for when the
What we are trying to achieve with this new
moderator reads out a lengthy piece of text from a
script, website, document, etc. campaign is uniformity. We are looking to
achieve this by the end of May. (Moderator
continues 01.14.16-01.16.02).
This is what that particular company have
If what is read out is only a couple of sentences to say about recruitment. Listen up!
long in total, then it does not require this format. Our new way of working has created a
Leave this in the same paragraph as the rest of huge amount of jobs in the past quarter.
the speech and add inverted commas to denote We aim to double this amount in the next
that it is not the speakers own thoughts. quarter. What are your thoughts on
this?
Laughter
Only include this when it is either alluded to by a
speaker or it is covering up speech, and use it
sparingly. It is wise to use this when someone M: I bought a new car yesterday. It cost me
may have said something in a jokey way and the a years wages.
speaker or other participants have laughed. This
would be necessary so the text is not F: I hate you! (Laughter).
misconstrued when read back. Laughter does not
require a timecode and should be formatted as F: Youre laughing because Im right
shown to the right. It requires a capital letter if at (laughter), arent you?
the start of a new sentence but lower case if used
mid-sentence.
Agreement
When two or more respondent in a group give the Are you fans of this one?
same answer, you can use a specific format (as
shown to the right) instead of separating their Yes (x3).
answers onto different lines.
Who likes the TV ad the best?
Dont forget to punctuate. This comes after the
closing bracket. I do (x4).

12
Formatting Guidelines for Applicants

What about the radio ad? Does anyone

If an undetermined amount of respondents agree like that the best?
(or disagree) use the format shown to the right.
No (general agreement).

13