What is a Verbatim Transcript? A Beginner's Guide to Writing and Transcription

What is a verbatim transcript?

This article explains what a verbatim transcript is and how to create one.

A verbatim transcript is a document that contains every word spoken by a person, transcribed exactly as it was said.

It's used when there's a need to record spoken content without any editing, such as in social research, counseling, or legal documentation.

Creating a verbatim transcript can be a very demanding task.

However, with the latest tools available today, it has become easier and quicker to produce verbatim transcripts.

We'll also introduce recommended AI transcription tools for creating verbatim transcripts, so why not give them a try and make your transcription process more convenient?

Understanding Verbatim Transcripts

First, let's briefly explain what a verbatim transcript is.

What is a Verbatim Transcript?

A verbatim transcript is a document that records exactly what a person said, word for word, without any changes.

Transcribing word for word means literally transcribing the content as spoken, including any misspoken words or hesitations.

For example, if someone says:

"Uh, thank you all very much for coming today, um, truly."

The transcription (or verbatim transcription) would include filler words like "uh" and "um" exactly as they were spoken.

Also, if a sentence like:

"Went, yesterday."

uses inversion, it should be transcribed as is, without correcting it to "Went yesterday".

Advantages of Verbatim Transcripts

So, why is it necessary to transcribe (or verbatim transcribe) misspoken words or filler words like "uh" and "um"?

The biggest advantage of a verbatim transcript is that it doesn't include the transcriber's subjectivity.

In legal or academic documents, it may be necessary to transcribe the original audio as accurately as possible.

However, if you try to omit words like "uh" or "um" during transcription, it introduces a subjective judgment to omit those words.

Furthermore, when laughter occurs during speech, transcribing it as "hahaha, that's right" without omitting it, versus omitting it and just transcribing "that's right," changes the meaning of the transcribed text.

Thus, by creating a verbatim transcript, you can achieve more precise transcription without the transcriber's subjective interpretation.

Disadvantages of Verbatim Transcripts

The disadvantage of verbatim transcripts is that they can be difficult to read.

Since filler words like "uh" and "um," hesitations, and laughter must also be transcribed, it inevitably takes longer to read compared to text where such elements have been removed.

A verbatim transcript is primarily a method used in situations where strict accuracy of the record is more important than readability.

How to Create a Verbatim Transcript

So, when you need a verbatim transcript, how can you create one easily?

Method 1: Typing it Yourself

When creating a verbatim transcript, the first method that comes to mind is typing it out yourself using a keyboard for transcription (tape transcription).

Previously, there were no other options, so manually typing using an audio player app for transcription was the mainstream approach.

However, typing it out yourself on a keyboard presents these issues:

1. It's time-consuming and labor-intensive

Manually transcribing while listening to an audio file is a very labor-intensive task.

It's impossible to transcribe in the same amount of time as the audio file; even with the smoothest process, it takes at least three times the recording duration (for example, over 6 hours for a 2-hour audio file).

2. Subjectivity can creep in

The purpose of a verbatim transcript is to create a precise record free from subjective bias.

When someone unfamiliar with transcription manually transcribes, even if they intend to transcribe exactly as heard, they often unconsciously omit words like "um," "uh," hesitations, or misspoken words.

This prevents achieving the original purpose of creating a verbatim transcript.

Method 2: Use an AI Transcription Service [Recommended]

Therefore, there's a recommended method for creating verbatim transcripts.

That is, using an AI transcription service.

An AI transcription service uses AI speech recognition to convert audio into text (tape transcription).

In fact, AI transcription services are the optimal method for creating verbatim transcripts.

By utilizing AI, which has advanced significantly in recent years, it's now possible to perform highly accurate and fast transcription.

Using an AI transcription service for verbatim transcripts offers these benefits:

1. Less effort, completed in a short time

Using an AI transcription service is very simple: just upload the audio file.

No further action is required.

Moreover, even for audio files over an hour long, transcription (tape transcription) can be completed in about 10 minutes.

2. Completely "verbatim" transcription possible without subjectivity

It's AI, not a human, that performs transcription with an AI transcription service.

AI recognizes the content of the audio file and transcribes it exactly as heard.

Therefore, unlike humans, it can transcribe the recorded content completely as is, without omitting words like "um" or "uh."

Unlike humans, there's no subjective judgment, so especially for verbatim transcripts, it's possible to perform the task more completely.

The two benefits introduced here are the exact opposite of the drawbacks of manual keyboard transcription by humans.

This further demonstrates why AI transcription services are well-suited for creating verbatim transcripts.

If You're Creating a Verbatim Transcript, Use "Mojiokoshi-san"

There's an AI transcription service highly recommended for creating verbatim transcripts.

That is "Mojiokoshi-san".

"Mojiokoshi-san" is an AI transcription service from Japan that uses the latest AI technology.

In addition to AI's inherent high accuracy, it's possible to transcribe more conveniently because you can use two types of AI.

The two types of AI each have these useful features:

• PerfectVoice: Transcribes long audio files in about 10 minutes, supports 100 languages
• AmiVoice: Transcribes in approximately the same time as the audio file, includes speaker diarization (transcription by speaker)

These features are very convenient.

It can also handle creating verbatim transcripts summarized by speaker or transcribing foreign language audio.

What's more, you can transcribe for free for up to 1 minute without needing to register or log in.

If you're looking for a way to transcribe verbatim, why not try "Mojiokoshi-san" for free first?

Situations Where Verbatim Transcripts Are Used

Verbatim transcripts are useful in situations such as:

Academic Research and Studies

Academic research and studies are one of the common areas where verbatim transcripts are frequently used.

• Interviews in social sciences
• Investigations and research in cultural anthropology
• Patient interviews in medicine and nursing

Verbatim transcripts are used as a means of recording for investigations and research in various academic fields.

Counseling

Verbatim transcripts are also used in psychological counseling.

By using a verbatim transcript that captures the spoken content exactly as it was said, it becomes possible to more accurately grasp the issues faced by the person receiving counseling (the client).

Legal Records

Verbatim transcripts are also used for legal records, including court proceedings.

Specifically, using transcribed audio recordings as evidence in court is called the "audio transcription method".

Terms Related to Verbatim Transcription

Finally, we will briefly explain some terms to remember when creating verbatim transcripts.

"Verbatim"

The term "verbatim" in "verbatim transcript" refers to following something faithfully, word for word, without alteration.

Another example of a word using "verbatim" is "verbatim translation" (translating word by word without interpretation).

For example, a verbatim translation of "I have a pen." would be "I have one pen."

While this might sound unnatural in English, it allows for a more precise understanding of the original sentence's meaning.

Verbatim transcripts serve the exact same purpose: to precisely transcribe and record what someone has said.

"Filler"

Fillers are linguistic terms for words like "um," "uh," or "like" that speakers use to fill pauses while speaking.

The term "filler" originates from the English word "fill" (to put something into a space).

As explained in this article, including fillers in the transcription is a key characteristic of verbatim transcripts.

"Raw Transcription," "Clean Transcription," "Edited Transcription": The Three Terms of Transcription

Transcription has three stages:

• Raw transcription (素起こし)
• Clean transcription (ケバ取り)
• Edited transcription (整文)

Among these, "raw transcription" is necessary when creating a verbatim transcript.

Raw Transcription

In raw transcription, for example,

"Uh, everyone, thank you, um, very much for coming today."

is transcribed exactly as spoken, including fillers like "uh" and "um."

This matches the content of verbatim transcripts explained in this article.

Clean Transcription

Clean transcription is the next stage after raw transcription.

If the audio was: "Uh, everyone, thank you, um, very much for coming today."

then

"Thank you all very much for gathering here today."

This is how you would transcribe by removing unnecessary parts.

However, you should not do more than just remove unnecessary words.

For example, inverted sentences like "went, yesterday" must be left as they are.

Textual Arrangement

In textual arrangement, you refine the text without changing its meaning.

For example, if you had the sentence:

"went, yesterday"

You would arrange it into a non-inverted form like:

"went yesterday"

AI Transcription Services are Recommended for Smooth Verbatim Transcription

Looking at the explanation alone, verbatim transcription might seem the easiest, but that's not actually the case.

You need to transcribe every single filler word like "uh" or "um" and every slip of the tongue without missing anything, which makes manual verbatim transcription very difficult and time-consuming.

Therefore, when performing verbatim transcription, it's recommended to use a tool rather than doing it yourself.

Specifically, using an AI transcription service like 'Mojiokoshi-san' allows for smooth and fast transcription.

With an AI transcription service, the verbatim transcription required for a verbatim record can be completed fully automatically and in a short amount of time.

Furthermore, AI won't miss any misspoken words or hesitations.

And with 'Mojiokoshi-san', you can transcribe up to 1 minute for free!

If you're struggling with how to create verbatim records or perform verbatim transcription, why not try 'Mojiokoshi-san' first?

AI Transcription Services for Easy and Convenient Verbatim Records

Verbatim records require transcribing (tape recording) exactly what was said, word for word.

Therefore, creating them manually is very time-consuming and labor-intensive.

On the other hand, using an AI transcription service not only eliminates the need for time and effort but also allows for the creation of higher-quality verbatim records.

If you're having trouble with verbatim records, why not try an AI transcription service?

■ AI transcription service "Mr. Transscription"

"Mr. Transcription" is an online transcription tool that can be used from zero initial cost and 1,000 yen per month (* free version available).

• Supports more than 20 file formats such as audio, video, and images
• Can be used from both PC and smartphone
• Supports technical terms such as medical care, IT, and long-term care
• Supports creation of subtitle files and speaker separation
• Supports transcription in approximately 100 languages ​​including English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, German, French, Italian, etc.

To use it, just upload the audio file from the site. Transcription text is available in seconds to tens of minutes.
You can use it for free if you transcribe it for up to 10 minutes, so please try it once.

It is "Mr. Transcription" who can easily transcribe from audio, video, and images. Transcription allows you to transcribe for up to 10 minutes for free. You can copy, download, search, delete, etc. the transcribed text. You can also create subtitle files, which is ideal for transcription of interview videos.

HP: mojiokoshi3.com
Email: mojiokoshi3.com@gmail.com