It’s that time of year again… across the UK over the last few weeks we’ve seen the flurry of activity that comes with the release of A Level results and the subsequent scrabble for university places, with those successful students getting ready to pack their bags in a couple of weeks. Heading off to University to embark on what can be the final stages of education is an exciting prospect, but for some, it’s just the first rung on that higher education ladder.
For some, an undergraduate degree is just the first step, with Masters degrees and even PhDs to follow, each of which becomes more demanding and more technical in terms of expectation.
By the time a student reaches PhD level, there are some seriously time consuming demands with advanced coursework in a specialist subject, and this is especially the case when comes to the final document an academic is required to produce to support their research and ultimately achieve that Doctorate. They are expected to independently conduct original and significant research in a specific field or subject, all of which culminates in a significant research document or thesis that’s worthy of publication. In most cases this thesis will amount to anywhere between 80,000 and 100,000 words in length. Depending on the degree, part of the research process can involve conducting interviews with relevant people, all of which needs to be transcribed to be added into the thesis.
This is where enlisting the services of FSTL becomes invaluable to PhD students. To an untrained individual, transcribing those interviews will amount to hundreds of hours of time spent. Getting FSTL on board means academics can free up their valuable time to continue with and hone their research – the vital element of the thesis that really needs their individual intellectual knowledge. Quite simply, the bit that nobody else can do.
Outsourcing to FSTL has a whole range of benefits. Making that decision to outsource the transcription element means an academic can go into the interview process knowing that they just need to set the session to record, and then they can focus on taking notes and paying close attention to the person being interviewed.
Transcripts produced by FSTL are in Word format, which means that quotes can easily be directly copied from the transcription document into the thesis – and if there’s a particular quote or phrase that might be remembered as being important, it’s easy to use the “find” option to locate it within the transcription notes. Our huge cross section of industry expertise means we cover most topics, so those little nuances of jargon will be understood. For example, our medical transcribers already have the specialist knowledge of the medical field required to accurately interpret and record the content of the interview, even when abbreviations and jargon are used by the interviewee.
The process couldn’t be more simple: send us your audio or video file and we’ll take care of the rest. Not only will you get your complete transcript in a fraction of the time it would take for you to do it yourself, but it will be accurate and come with total confidentiality too.
Just think of it as another key part of the investment in your academic career.