Where
medical transcription specializes in transcribing medical documents of various
sorts, and legal transcription specializes in producing transcripts for courts
and attorneys and related areas, general transcription encompasses a broad
range of fields such as focus groups for market research, recorded statements
for insurance companies, lectures for the academic world, sermons, interviews, student
research papers, and so much more.
To
transcribe an electronic digital recording (a recording housed on your
computer), playback software is needed. Most computers today have player
software already installed on the computer such as Real Player and/or Windows
Media Player. These players will probably provide a way for you to hear the dictation, but controlling the playback requires
something more.
Playing
the software enables you to hear what is spoken, but control is needed. It is frequently
necessary to pause the recording to let our fingers catch up to what was heard
and to allow adequate time for look-ups or corrections. Transcription playback
software provides the tools necessary to play, stop, pause, rewind, and fast
forward through the recording. A foot pedal or keyboard commands can be used to
control playback.
If
you need transcription playback software, Express Scribe by NCH Software is available as a free download from the Internet. Another
free player is available from Tyger Valley Systems called FTW Transcriber.
Download links are also provided on
the MT-Connect blog sidebar.
Are
you ready to hear what an audio recording sounds like? Practice files and
complete answer keys for the general transcriptionist are available here at
very low cost. If you are new to transcription, I recommend that you listen to each
recording once or twice from start to finish before attempting to actually
transcribe it. Then try typing what you hear. Check the answer key to see how
you did. Remember – practice will increase your speed and your accuracy and you
will steadily gain more skills.
