Focus Group recording tips
Top tips to ensure better quality audio for transcription
Focus groups are an extremely valuable tool when it comes to things like market research. When they’re professionally transcribed that they really provide useful and quantifiable information to help you improve your business. Having a written record of the conversation allows you to instantly gain a full understanding of what was said and pick out the most useful points, all without having to waste time listening through audio files and trying to locate those key moments.
In this case, the advantage of using a professional audio transcription service to write up the discussion from your focus group is clearer than ever. Our expert transcribers are able to accurately decipher what is being said on the recording and who is saying it. The entire process is much more efficient than when it’s done by someone who lacks experience in this field.
As a result, we’re able to offer our services at a competitive rate, giving you more valuable time to focus on the points raised during the discussion itself. When you factor in the added difficulty of multiple voices to the already labour-intensive transcription process, taking the professional approach is worthwhile for convenience alone.
We’ll take care of the whole transcription process for you, but bear in mind that when you produce your recordings there might be a few simple ways you can improve your final results even more. We recommend following our focus group recording tips to ensure better quality audio and in turn make the transcription process more accurate.
Focus groups with several speakers are generally among the more difficult recordings to transcribe, although there are ways in which you can increase the accuracy of the finished written record before you even begin your session.
Focus Group Recording Tips
Identify and eliminate background noise
On an audio recording, background noise is just as loud as the people speaking, so things like air conditioning, shuffling papers or having a window open onto a busy street can reduce the quality of the recording quite significantly. Eliminate these sources of noise wherever possible before you begin.
Trial run your environment
Identifying sources of background noise is much easier if you test your device before the focus group begins. Record a short clip, preferably with a few people speaking to simulate the focus group, then play back the clip to ensure the speech is clear. You’ll find it much easier to notice any unwanted background noises by listening to the playback.
Keep control of the conversation
A strict moderator can dramatically improve the quality of your recording, and therefore the reliability of the resulting text record. The moderator’s role is usually to ensure only one person speaks at once, typically reducing the number of “[unclear]” timestamps in your finished document from people talking over each other, and giving you a more accurate written version of your discussions.
Establish identity at the beginning
Another good practice when recording focus groups for transcription is to ensure all participants introduce themselves at the start of the conversation. This allows the transcriber to more accurately identify different speakers and correctly attribute each comment to each person.
We highly recommend following the above guidance if you want to get the most out of your focus group discussion after it has been transcribed. If you have any more questions about best practices or how we might accommodate your specific requests, please get in touch.