Editor’s note: Laurie A. Sossa is president of MRT Services Inc., a Loganville, Ga., transcription firm.

Much time and consideration goes into selecting a focus group facility, one that will provide top-notch recruiting and state-of-the-art features. It shouldn’t stop there though. Care must also be taken if your goal is to obtain high-quality transcripts.

First, choose a transcription company that offers options in price, content and turnaround time. For example, do you really need a full verbatim transcript? Verbatim transcription includes a full record of everything said by the moderator and the respondents. Much of what the moderator says is contained in the moderator guide and it is often not necessary to include their words in all of the transcripts for each market. 

In addition, a verbatim transcript contains all of the repeated words - whether in the form of stuttering, speech crutches such as um and uh, filler phrases such as “you know” and “so” - that were spoken, thus it obviously takes longer to produce and costs more.

A transcript that edits the moderator’s comments, filters out unnecessary words as noted above and leaves intact verbatim respondent comments can result in a smooth, focused and easy-to-read document that is less expensive to produce.

There are, of course, projects that may require a full verbatim transcription, such as for legal reasons. But if you really don’t need it, don’t end up paying for it. Consider trying a lightly-edited transcript, which won’t take as long to transcribe, costs less, has fewer inaudibles and is basically a neatened-up focus group record.

Requiring less time

A high-quality recording is also key, as it can make your transcription more affordable by requiring less time for the transcriptionist to complete.

There are a number of factors that can lead to a poor-quality recording, one that requires a transcriptionist to insert the notation (inaudible) after numerous efforts of rewinding and trying to capture everything:

•   poor audio quality;

•   sounds that drown out conversation, such as noise from the air conditioning system; ice rattling in respondents’ drinks; respondents munching on chips; respondents coughing, sneezing or laughing;

•   strong foreign accents;

•   technical or industry-specific terms;

•   crosstalk among respondents or the moderator’s verbal acknowledgements; and

•   mumbling or soft-talking respondents.

While some of these factors are unavoidable, most are actually controllable. Below we present some helpful hints to obtain the highest-quality recordings and transcriptions.

Go digital: More and more moderators are choosing facilities that provide digital recording. Not only does this save shipping charges and expedite a quicker turnaround, but files with soft-talking respondents or other problems can often be enhanced, for a fee, to produce a better recording or reduce background noise, thus minimizing the transcriber’s use of the (inaudible) notation.

Simply ask the facility to upload the digital files to your transcription company’s FTP site between each session or upload them from your PC. If uploading of digital recordings is not available, request DVDs or CDs in lieu of audio cassette tapes so that they can be converted to MP3.

Avoid snacks/drinks in focus room: Moderators, instruct your facility hostess to keep snacks and refreshments in the lobby and not to place any bags of chips, cans of soda or ice in the focus group room. This will eliminate sounds, such as bags of chips being crinkled, that can drown out a respondent’s words.

Compile industry terms: It would be beneficial for the moderator to furnish a list of any technical or industry-specific terminology, product brand names or industry association names or acronyms referenced in the sessions. This will reduce the time the transcription company spends searching the Internet to find the correct spelling. Otherwise, these terms are often typed phonetically or inaccurately. If they are indistinguishable, (inaudible) notations are inserted within the text.

On a related note, if you are doing the interviewing and taping, it would be helpful for you to say and spell out your respondents’ names at the beginning of the recording, before starting the interview, and speak any other related information that you would like on the transcript, such as how you want the header typed, e.g., the date, the time, the job title, etc.

Control crosstalk and muffled respondents: Moderators are encouraged to take better control of their groups. When one or more respondents talk at the same time, or when there is constant secondary conversation in the background while the main respondent is speaking, the transcriptionist’s job is made more difficult.

Some crosstalk is unavoidable. After all, the whole idea of a focus group is to get people talking! But the best way to control crosstalk is to tell respondents at the outset what is expected of them. As crosstalk occurs thereafter simply remind them to speak one at a time, as the microphone only picks up one voice at a time and the recording will be listened to and transcribed.

Hold your yeahs: Some moderators verbally acknowledge that they follow what the respondent is saying by uttering yeahs, mmm-hmms or OKs while the respondent is speaking. Unless it is necessary to do so, we suggest nodding your head. Otherwise, each time a yeah or an OK slips out, a much more important word or group of words spoken by your respondent may be rendered indistinct.

Come alive

Following these hints will help the transcriptionist to produce the best-possible record of your groups. In the end, you will receive an easy-to-read transcript in a timely manner, one from which you can comfortably pull all of the colorful verbatims that make the respondents come alive for your end clients.