When recording audio for transcription purposes, and especially when recording interviews and multi-participant meetings or hearings, it is imperative that you record the interview in an uncompressed file format such as "wav". This format ensures the best possible audio quality and will therefore result in a transcript that is coherent and accurately reflects the input of the participants.
As I have mentioned before, the environment in which the recording takes place is an important factor to consider if the recording is to be transcribed. In instances where you will need to record a qualitative research interview in a public place, recoding in a "wav" format is the only option. The "high-resolution" of a "wav" file will allow the transcriptionist to attempt to process this file in order to minimise background noise or to gain additional volume. Although I usually find that this is not necessary with "wav" files as the clarity of the input is sufficient to allow for efficient transcription.
All digital files have an extension. For example, a MS Word file can be saved as a "doc" or "dot" file. Audio files work on the same principle. In other words, "wav" is the three-letter extension that will appear after the name of your audio file e.g. interview1_Jones.wav or sessionA.wav.
Please refer to the manual that you received when purchasing your recording device in order to choose the correct settings to record a "wav" file. Some devices refer to an "LP" setting. The "LP" stands for long-playing and will record in a compressed file format such as "mp3" or a proprietary file format associated with your recording device. Do not use the "LP" setting for interviews.
13 March 2008
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