What Makes a Transcript Reliable Enough for Research?

Set the transcript style Decide whether the task needs verbatim speech, clean-read text, disfluencies, non-speech events, or a more readable transcript. The convention should fit the intended analysis.

Handle speakers consistently Define how speakers are identified, how overlapping speech is marked, and what to do when the speaker cannot be identified confidently.

Use timestamps when they matter Specify the expected granularity and format. For projects that need alignment, define acceptable timing tolerance and how interruptions or overlapping speech should be handled.

Mark uncertainty transparently Give annotators a consistent way to flag unintelligible speech, uncertain words, and missing context. Guessing can create false certainty in downstream research.

Review the output Check completeness, formatting, speaker consistency, and adherence to the task guide. Quality criteria should be agreed before production.