On the 4th February 2021, I presented a webinar on "automated transcription for research purposes" for the Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI), Univeristy of Gloucestershire. I was invited to present because the university staff were interested in the potential of automated transcription software (speech-to-text apps like Dragon, Otter.ai, etc.) for improving day-to-day research tasks, such as the transcription of qualitative interviews and taking meeting notes. This involved drawing from my personal experiences using Otter.ai to transcribe interviews, focus groups, meetings, and webinars during my PhD (please note that I'm not sponsored by, or affiliated with, Otter.ai and my views are my own!).
This blog post shares slides 1-5 of the webinar presentation, which covers some background information and reasons for using automated transcription. Two other posts share slides 6-10 (view here) which include a demonstration of key features, and slides 11-15 (view here) which explore some ethical, privacy, and security considerations.
I've written some previous blog posts on auto transcription, however since then lots of new features have been introduced. You can read my previous 3-part blog series on automated transcription for qualitative research - part 1 provides an introduction, part 2 a tutorial, and part 3 some practical, ethical, and GDPR considerations.
Please feel free to share this post and the images with reference to myself (Caitlin Hafferty). Do get in touch with any comments/questions at: caitlinhafferty@connect.glos.ac.uk and follow me on Twitter for updates (@CaitlinHafferty).
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| Slide 1 - introduction |
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| Slide 2 - introduction |
You can view more information about the background to auto transcription in this blog post: https://caitlinhafferty.blogspot.com/2020/08/introduction-to-automated-transcription-software-part1.html
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| Slide 3 - what is automated transcription, and how does it work? |
Automated transcription software uses natural language processing to draw meaning from human language.
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| Slide 4 - transcription apps currently available on the market (2021) |
Here's a good overview of the different free and paid speech-to-text apps available on the market in 2021: https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/best-speech-to-text-app
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| Slide 5 - why did I choose to use Otter.ai? |
Otter.ai isn't the only speech-to-text app out there, and it's important to explore the different options to find a service which is right for you (and/or your institution). Slide 5 summarises some of the features which make Otter.ai suitable for my own research needs - one thing I really like is that you can transcribe "live" or upload pre-recorded audio (and video). One notable bonus is that they (as of March 2021) offer their basic app for free, and a discount for students and workers in Higher Education.
Slides 6-10 (demonstration) are in a second blog post: https://caitlinhafferty.blogspot.com/2021/03/automated-transcription-for-research2.html
Slides 11-15 (privacy, security, ethics) are in a third blog post: https://caitlinhafferty.blogspot.com/2021/03/automated-transcription-for-research3.html