


The following page provides step-by-step instructions for transcribing (and cleaning) teacher audio recordings for the Crowdsource Science project. Included in each section is also a short video clip to further demonstrate the procedures.
The instructions found on this page are further detailed in the following document which includes screenshots to support your understanding of the transcription process. This document can be downloaded here: Transcription Step-By-Step Guide (.pdf)
Finding your Assignment
- Open the 2023-2024 Final Data folder.
- Open the Research Assistants folder.
- Click on Transcription Assignments and Open Online.
- Make sure you are on the Assignments tab and find your assignment for the week. Make note of your Teacher’s ID number, and the Target Student’s name and ID.
- Go back into the Research Assistants folder and click on the Pseudonyms folder. Click on Name so the files are in order. Check to see if there is already a list for your Teacher ID. If there is, you will use that list when labeling and creating pseudonyms. If there isn’t one, you can create your own. (see Things to Look for When Cleaning linked in the Cleaning the Transcript section)
Uploading the Audio Recording to Otter.ai
- Go back to the 2023-2024 Final Data folder and open the Audio Recordings folder.
- Click on Name so the audio recordings are listed in order, then click on your audio recording.
- Download the recording to your computer.
- Go into your Otter.ai account and click Import. Once it’s been uploaded, it does take a few minutes to transcribe. You will receive an email/notification when it is finished.
- Once it’s done creating the transcription, click Go to Transcript.
Cleaning the Transcript
- Click on Transcript.
- Click on Edit (see Things to Look for When Cleaning).
- Once you’re finished cleaning the transcript, click Done.
Exporting the Transcript
- Export as a .txt file. Make sure to unclick the Combine all paragraphs in to one.
- Click on Summary.
- Click Copy Summary.
- Open the .txt file, type Summary at the top and paste in the summary.
- Edit the summary as needed for clarity, and to match the speaker names, and save.
Uploading the Transcript into Box
- Go back to the Final Data folder and open the Transcripts folder.
- Upload the .txt file in the Transcripts folder.
- Edit the file name by deleting the otter_ai and _transcript to the end (e.g., 05_0101_L01_otter_ai to 05_0101_L01_transcript).
- If you had to create your own list of pseudonyms, go back to the Research Assistants folder and click on the Pseudonyms folder.
- Upload your list of pseudonyms. Label it with the teacher ID and Pseudonyms (e.g., 01_0101 Pseudonyms).
- Go back to the Transcript Assignments spreadsheet and type in the lesson theme (only type the lesson theme once you have uploaded the transcript – this signals to the SERA Transcript Manager that you have finished the transcript). Go to the next assignment!

All individuals responsible for transcribing audio recordings are required to complete Transcript Reliability Check 1 before transcribing their first audio recordings. Additional reliability checks are assigned as needed by the SERA Transcript Manager.
The following instructions are intended to support you in completing the transcript reliability checks and should be paired with the instructions above.
1. Download the audio file and corresponding pseudonyms document under the assigned transcript reliability check
2. Follow the instructions under Uploading the Audio Recording into Otter.ai
3. Follow the instructions under Cleaning the Transcript using the pseudonyms document to de-identify speakers
4. Follow the instructions under Exporting the Transcript
Note: The transcript summary generated by Otter.ai does not need to be included in your reliability transcript.
Please submit your reliability transcript to the SERA Transcript Manager, at tdn4tv@virginia.edu. Once the SERA Transcript Manager has completed your reliability analysis, they will reach out to schedule a meeting with you to review any differences.
Transcript Reliability Check 1
Audio File: 10_0201_G4_L06.m4a
Pseudonyms: 10_0201_Pseudonoyms.docx
Note: The linked audio file is stored in Google Drive and will need to be downloaded using the option at the top right of the webpage.
Transcript Reliability Check 2
Audio File: 07_0101_G5_L08.m4a
Pseudonyms: 07_0101_Pseudonoyms.docx
Note: The linked audio file is stored in Google Drive and will need to be downloaded using the option at the top right of the webpage.
Transcript Reliability Check 3
Audio File: 08_0101_G4_L10.m4a
Pseudonyms: 08_0101_Pseudonoyms.docx
Note: The linked audio file is stored in Google Drive and will need to be downloaded using the option at the top right of the webpage.