Human Transcription Support

Transcription falls into two arms:

1. Letter or report typing.
2. Interview or focus group transcription.

Although letter or report typing for clinicians has been largely replaced with editing the output of an AI scribe, with concerns such as data privacy and integrity, accuracy and misrepresentation or when individuals are satisfied they already have an efficient workflow based around dictation and transcription, Ciara will still audio type from recorded dictation. It is part of Ciara's role to report to clients the benefits she hears about improved focus on the patient from using AI scribes to ensure you make an informed choice. Likewise, it is Ciara's responsibility to advise keen adopters of AI that their brilliant new tool is not GDPR compliant!

Ciara works with clinicians using an AI scribe where:

• Patients are informed of the use of the AI scribe.
• The AI scribe in use has achieved security certification such as ISO27001 or approval for use in the NHS.
• Nothing is sent to a patient without review by the clinician. Clinical judgement retains control of the AI scribe.

Ciara's interview or focus group transcription service is fully human. Thanks to the brilliant people at Hi from a Human, from August 2026 our interview transcripts will carry the "Transcribed using Human Ingenuity" badge in the header of the first page.



Support for Interview or Focus Group Transcription

Ciara provides a human interview transcription service predominantly to UK-based academics. We transcribe qualitative research interviews where conversations are...

• ...sensitive in nature.
• ...between accented and/or emotional speakers.
• ...between multiple people.

...and because:

• …accuracy is essential. 
• …vocabulary is technical. 
• …consistent identification of speakers is necessary. 
• …HOW something was said is as significant as WHAT was said. 
• ...the sensitive nature of the interviews means researchers want to keep their data closer. 

Some people just do not like/trust AI – and it’s okay if that is someone's preference. It is right to be wary and it is important to be open about the use of AI scribes. Rather than obtaining an participant's consent to be a) interviewed and b) transcribed, the use of AI tools adds a third step, c) transcribed using an AI scribe. AI tools work well given context. They fill in holes within a predefined structure with astonishing accuracy. Without context – given a blank page – they are less accurate and make mistakes, but will present their results with concerning confidence.  Participants may fear being misinterpreted or misrepresented by AI and researchers should be mindful of the Hawthorne effect when designing their project.

Other factors for consideration, especially in academia are: 

• The ethics around AI listening and any inferences it may make. 
• Sustainability and environmental factors, often compliance points from procurement. Do you know the environmental impact of the data centres your AI tool uses? 
• Greater choice of transcription method places greater scrutiny on project design, cost, analysis and validity of your results. 
• Does less human oversight of transcription actually increase the workload of researchers on the team in terms of proofing and editing? 
• As a result, although transcription costs may be reduced, is there an increase in other staffing costs to include human oversight in editing and project managing? 
• Reported concern throughout academia about the risk AI poses to critical thinking and writing skills. Does ensuring there is some element of human transcription integrated into your project preserve a standard against which AI tools can be evaluated in terms of analysing the veracity of results? 

It can be difficult for academics in the current climate where funding bodies will argue for limiting costs by using an automated tool. However, for academic rigour transcription is still a much larger conversation than finance alone. Cost does not necessarily equal value. 

Although the majority of our interview transcription is for healthcare research, Ciara is happy to transcribe interviews for other sectors or academics from non-clinical disciplines. Please do get in touch to discuss your project.

Transcription Rates

Applicable to quotes provided from August 2026 onwards. Earlier quotes will be honoured.

Short Letter Transcription

Letter typing, either from dictation or editing of your AI-generated output, is charged at the usual hourly rate for secretarial, PA or administrative work.

Report Transcription from Dictation (e.g. Building Survey Reports)

Longer reports from clear recorded dictation are charged at a flat rate of £1.50 per audio minute (PAM).

Interview or Focus Group Transcription

Most of Ciara's interview and focus group transcription is for academic research, however market research, human resources or journalistic interviews and focus groups can also be accommodated.

Transcription turnaround and cost is dependent on factors such as the quality of the audio, number of speakers, accents and the level of accuracy required. Where the nature of the content is challenging, this will also incur an additional fee.

The minimum level of accuracy Ciara will transcribe to is verbatim, which is every word stated, excluding umms and ahhs. Customers may also opt for strict verbatim, which is every word stated, including the umms and ahhs.

Ciara’s interview and focus group transcription rates, tiered into a Gold, Silver and Bronze service, are competitive within the industry. 

Additionally, Ciara’s normal way of working is for her to transcribe all audio personally, as this leads to greater consistency across transcripts compared to larger providers.

Ciara reserves the right to use associate typists to fulfil orders in the event of illness, accident or emergency.

Gold = 24-hour turnaround

Silver = 3 working days

Bronze = as and when Ciara can transcribe around existing commitments.

*The Gold, Silver and Bronze services apply to individual recordings. Where customers do not upload recordings as they go along but submit all recordings at the end of the project, the applicable fee will be Bronze with an agreed deadline for the return of all transcripts.

What is "Challenging Content?"

Sometimes tough conversations are needed, however they can be a difficult listen for the transcriber.

Ciara uses the term “Challenging Content” to describe any conversation that may include discussion of emotionally charged or graphic topics. Examples include themes of any kind of emotional, physical or sexual abuse, detailed descriptions of injuries or medical conditions.

Ask: if your content were an item being reported on by the media, would it come with a content or trigger warning? 

What is the Transcription Process?

Ciara’s preferred method of file-sharing is via Microsoft Teams. Microsoft security capabilities and UK-based service make it a secure and robust way to share files in compliance with data legislation.

Upload your files for transcription and receive a transcript as a Word document uploaded in return. Advise of any formatting preferences or accessibility requirements.

Larger projects, please upload interviews for “transcribe as you go” to avoid a period of delay at the end of your interviews before you can begin analysis.

Ciara will share a terminology document with you to ensure correct and consistent representation of any specialist vocabulary.