Interview how-to · Facts verified 2026-09-05

How to properly transcribe an interview
from the first draft to research-ready quotations

To transcribe an interview, choose verbatim or clean verbatim, listen in short sections, and start each speaker turn on a new line. Document your timestamp and [inaudible] conventions, then check the transcript against the recording. For qualitative research or a dissertation, agree consent and anonymising rules before recording. On Mac, WhisperJot can transcribe the interview audio file as a draft; add speaker labels and check the detail yourself.

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Built-in path

How to transcribe an interview manually

Write a short transcription brief before typing. The required detail depends on your research question or editorial purpose.

Agree consent and handling. For research, obtain recording permission through your study's consent process. Document who will transcribe, where files will be stored and secured, and when recordings will be destroyed. Include planned sharing or future uses in the consent process.
Choose verbatim or clean verbatim. Full verbatim preserves words, fillers, hesitations, and relevant nonverbal detail. Clean verbatim, also called intelligent verbatim, commonly removes fillers, false starts, and stutters while keeping wording otherwise unchanged. These are industry labels, not universal standards; edited clean read goes further by smoothing grammar.
Set the transcript format. Use a header with study name, interview ID, and date. Start each turn on a new line with I: for interviewer and R: for respondent, or R1: and R2: for several respondents. Choose timestamps at speaker turns, every 30–60 seconds, or unclear passages; these are project choices, not mandated intervals.
Play, pause, and mark uncertainty. Type short sections and replay unclear words instead of guessing. Define a marker such as [inaudible 00:12:34] in your project brief. UK Data Service and Baylor use parentheses for recorded sounds, such as (laughs), and square brackets for editorial additions. Do not mix that convention with commercial styles that bracket everything.
Check and anonymise. Listen again while reading, checking speaker changes and punctuation that could change meaning. Apply consistent pseudonyms and bracketed replacements, including identifying context where needed. Keep a secure replacement log separate from the anonymised files. Preserve enough context for meaningful analysis.
Use the right APA treatment. Under APA 7, a nonrecoverable expert interview used to inform your argument is a personal communication: cite initials, surname, and date in text only, without a reference-list entry (section 8.9). Your own study participants are different: quote them directly without a personal-communication citation and protect their identities (section 8.36).

Limits to know

Bailey reports at least three hours of transcription per hour of talk, rising to ten hours with fine detail including visual detail. This is a manual-work estimate, not a software speed promise.
Thematic analysis needs a thorough transcript with detail suited to the analysis and checked against audio. Conversation or discourse analysis may need more detailed notation.
Conventions differ: the UK Data Service example brief uses ellipses for pauses, while Baylor avoids ellipses because they can imply omitted material. Follow one written brief.

The WhisperJot way

Draft an interview transcript with WhisperJot on Mac

Choose a local engine. Use Jot Local or Jot Local Pro for on-device transcription, offline after the one-time model download. Jot Local Pro is the long-form engine. Jot Cloud is opt-in.
Import the interview audio on Mac. In the WhisperJot menu bar on Mac, choose Transcribe Audio File… and select the interview audio file. Use an audio type macOS can open. The result appears in History.
Export and check every turn. Export the result from History as text. Compare it with the recording, add speaker labels and your chosen timestamps manually, and restore any detail your verbatim brief requires. WhisperJot does not provide speaker labels or summaries.
Prepare the research copy. Apply the agreed pseudonyms and bracketed substitutions in your editor. Review identifying details before sharing. Keep analysis notes separate from the interviewee's words, and read the transcript alongside the audio before coding.

Tips

Make the first session count.

Keep a written brief

Define fillers, pauses, overlapping speech, timestamps, and unclear-word markers before the first interview so each transcript follows the same rules.

Check meaning against audio

Braun and Clarke treat transcription and repeated reading as part of familiarising yourself with data. Even a transcript prepared by someone else needs an audio check.

Anonymise consistently

Use the same replacement rules throughout the project. Store the replacement log securely and separately from the de-identified transcripts.

Questions

Straight answers.

What is the format for transcribing an interview?

Begin with an interview ID, study name, and date, then put each speaker turn on a new line with consistent labels such as I: and R:. Document a timestamp policy and an unclear-audio marker such as [inaudible 00:12:34]. These are project conventions; the archival guides do not mandate one timestamp interval.

Should qualitative research interviews be verbatim?

Choose the detail your analysis requires and record that decision in your transcription brief. Braun and Clarke call for a rigorous verbal account for thematic analysis and checking transcripts against audio. Clean verbatim is an industry label for removing fillers, false starts, and stutters; do not remove those details if they matter to your research question.

How do I cite an interview in APA 7?

A nonrecoverable expert interview used as a source is normally a personal communication, cited in text with initials, surname, and date, without a reference-list entry. Your own research participants are treated differently: quote them directly without a personal-communication citation and protect their identities. APA sections 8.9 and 8.36 distinguish these cases.

How long does it take to transcribe an interview?

Bailey reports at least three hours per hour of talk, and up to ten hours when transcription includes fine detail such as visual information. That estimate concerns manual transcription. Software can supply a draft, but you still need to check wording, speaker turns, unclear passages, and the conventions your project requires.

Sources

Vendor documentation.

Sources, checked 2026-09-05: UK Data Service: transcript formatting template, Baylor: manual transcript editing conventions, Bailey: transcription detail and time cost, Braun & Clarke: thematic analysis, UK Data Service: example transcriber brief, Appen: common verbatim industry labels, APA: personal communications, College of St. Scholastica: APA research-participant quotations, Penn: interview research consent and handling, Penn State: recording consent and future uses, Qualitative Data Repository: de-identification. Vendor features change — check each product's documentation for current behavior.

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How to properly transcribe an interviewfrom the first draft to research-ready quotations