The Importance Of Reference Material For Proper Transcription
Reference material is very important to a transcriber to maintain high standards of transcription and indicating that having the correct reference materials available can never be over emphasized. There are many reasons which can compromise the quality of work when transcribing and one of which is the lack of the right reference materials offered to the transcriber. Deciding on the right reference material will confirm better quality and therefore reduce the time used in referencing that is required for the actual assignment coming. Often the work flow is affected due to unfitting material being referred to.
Reference materials that are needed
There are different kinds of reference materials that are needed to be able to transcribe. One is the standard material with worldwide applicability to the given trade i.e. legal or medical, and the second is job specific material which provided as per the assignment given e.g. a legal case.
Normal Reference Material: This refers to an appendix of terms and dictionary of words relating to a particular industry. This becomes all the more relevant in case of medical transcriptions where the transcriber has a complete dictionary for checking out the difficult medical terminologies they will need to use. Also there has to the right source for learning the difference between brand names and the products of that brand. Many transcribers face difficulties trying to confirm if the dictator has spoken a generic brand of a specific drug name which is necessary to the full method of transcription.
Project Specific Reference Material: This works refers to what is given for a particular project. This might include a folder containing linked information such as power point presentations, snap shots of a presentations or PDF files etc. If the project is on an interview the reference folder may contain details about those who spoke and the interviewer like names, qualifications and specialties. In case of seminars the audio file will have a supplementary reference of the time factor indicating the duration of each speaker and the specific topic being discussed. In these projects having the agenda and minutes file is of tremendous help for transcribing the event from an audio file.
The law Society / courtrooms. i.e. state law, customer database, old documents, reference dictionaries, web sites, atlas, street map, phone books.
Personal communications e.g. emails, letters, journal articles.
Spelling and punctuation in dictated material
Punctuation
Much of this section may be obvious to most people. However, it is important to clarify punctuation conventions to ensure that they are applied consistently across all documents. In addition, limits on the use of certain punctuation marks are imposed in order to ease document translation.
Apostrophe
The apostrophe is normally used in forming contractions. Avoid using contractions in technical documents that will be translated into languages other than English.
Avoid using the apostrophe to indicate possession because it can cause problems when your text is being translated into a different language. Instead, rework the sentence so that an apostrophe is not needed.
The apostrophe can be used to form plurals in certain cases where the lack of an apostrophe may cause confusion. For example, "1's and 0's"ColonYou can use a colon after the words "following" or "follows." Make sure that text preceding the colon is a complete sentence or a noun phrase.
Use a colon after introductory text. For example, "You have only one option: restart the computer."
Do not use a colon in headings.
Do not use a colon in a list that is introduced by "are" or "include."
Comma
The rules for comma use in normal prose are numerous and complicated. However, in a technical document intended for translation, sentences will tend to be shorter and simpler than in normal prose. As a result, comma use will also tend to be limited and therefore only some of the major points are covered here.
Use the series comma. The series comma is the comma before the word "and" in a list of three or more words or phrases.
Use a comma to set off "for example" and similar words and phrases such as "namely" and "that is." You can find many examples of this type of comma use in the style guide.
Use the comma after introductory phrases and clauses.
Hyphen
Use a hyphen in compound modifiers preceding a noun. Example: "Evolution is an end-user application."
Use a hyphen in spelled-out fractions, unless the fraction is at the start of a sentence. Example: "Well-written documentation is one-half of a successful software application."
Use a hyphen in compound words formed with "better", "best", and "well", unless they are already modified. Example: "Subversion is a well-known version control system. It has very well written documentation."
Parentheses
Use parentheses around abbreviations and acronyms that you will use later. Example: "The Ubuntu Documentation Project (UDP) is an important part of the Ubuntu Linux distribution."
Do not use parentheses to set off an explanation or an aside. For example, do not write a sentence (like this one) that uses parentheses in this manner.
Period
Use a period to end sentences.
End abbreviations with a period. For example, "abbrev.", "Mr.", and "Ms.".
Use a period at the end of each step in a procedure.
In lists, use a period only if the list items are complete sentences.
Quotation Marks
Use quotation marks around material that is repeated verbatim from another source, when the length of the copied material is such that it can be included "inline" with the paragraph.
Use quotation marks around letters, words, or phrases that you want to emphasize without using italics or bold text.
Semicolon
A semicolon can only be used to join two independent clauses when the clauses are connected and are of equal importance. The semicolon is frequently misused, so it is best to avoid semicolons. A sentence with a semicolon can usually be split into two or more sentences. Splitting the sentence will make it easier to read and translate.
