Credit

To give credit where credit is due, there are a lot of resources about transcription available on the internet. Baylor University has an extensive style guide, as does the Columbia University Center for Oral History Research. The best brief guide is from Worcester Women’s Oral History Project (WWOHP). Much of the information below is adapted from the WWOHP’s guidelines.

General Formatting

• Left margins
• No indentations
• 12pt font
• Times New Roman
• Single-space
• Additional return between speakers
• Page numbers in bottom right corner
• Speakers indicated by two initials, in bold

Template

Download a Word template for an example of a properly formatted transcription.

Headers

In addition to the metadata you submit to the archive, the transcript itself has a bit of required metadata. Headers should always include:

• Interviewee Name
• Interviewer Name
• Date of Interview (MM/DD/YYYY)
• Location (if the interviewer and interviewee are in different locations, create a field for “Location of Interviewer” and “Location of Interviewee”)
• Transcriber Name

Abstract

Every oral history interview should include an abstract or summary of the interview’s content. This is designed to give researchers or readers a brief overview of what to expect from the full transcript. General guidelines include:

• Between 150-200 words
• Use the interviewee’s full name in the first sentence and then just their first name thereafter
• Use present tense when referring to the interview; use past tense for events that happened in their past
• Begin with the prominent themes from the interview
• Take care to avoid redundant words – good options include shares, reflects upon, touches upon, describes, highlights, emphasizes, etc.

Transcription Tips

Ummmm

Transcribe every word in the order spoken by the narrator, leaving out the “ums” and “ahs.”

A Slip of the Tongue

Include any of the interviewee’s false starts, Freudian slips, interruptions, grammatical errors, etc.

Unclear Words and Spelling

If there is an indecipherable word, indicate its presence with (__________???).

If there is a word that you cannot figure out how to spell even after Googling it, indicate it with (??) after the word. Mark your phonetic spellings with (ph).

Abbreviations

Never use abbreviations except with common titles (e.g. Ms., Dr., Mr., Mrs.). Never use an ampersand (&) instead of the word “and.”

Numbers

Spell out numbers one through nine; represent 10 or higher with numerals. The same rule applied for first through ninth, and 10th or higher.

Explanatory Information

Use brackets to include explanatory information, like explanations of acronyms. For example, BLM [Black Lives Matter] or HUD [Housing and Urban Development].

Noises

Use brackets to describe noises like [phone rings], [pounds table], or [clock strikes three], and nonverbal sounds like [laughs], [pffft] or [gasps].

Use brackets to explain interruptions such as the recorder being turned off or [noise from a train interrupted interview].

Introducing New People

When the narrator talks about someone new for the first time, always include their full name (even if the narrator does not). For example, if the interviewee introduces Doe, then you write [John] Doe.

Locations

When new locations are introduced, indicate the state or country in brackets for the first use, such as Cincinnati [Ohio].

Quotations

If the interviewee quotes someone else, enclose the quotes in quotation marks.

Punctuation

Do not use a comma every time someone pauses. Use it only in grammatically correct ways. (This is a common mistake.)

Use ellipses (. . .) to indicate an incomplete sentence.

Use dashes (—) to indicate a change in thought mid-sentence. For example: Then we went—he went—we all went to the theater.