Non-Strict and Strict Verbatim

Non-Strict Verbatim

Sometimes referred to as “non-verbatim,” non-strict verbatim means you will exclude the um’s, uh’s, mm’s, hmm’s, false starts, stutters or repeated words in succession, as well as filler words such as kind of, sort of, you know, I mean, and like.

• Assume non-strict verbatim on every transcript unless otherwise instructed.
• If a speaker habitually responds with “uh-huh,” “mm-hmm,” “okay,” “yeah,” “yes,” “right,” etc., while the other speaker is speaking, you can exclude it from the transcript.
• If a word is repeated to emphasize the connotation of the sentence, please type it. On the contrary, please omit it if it's repeated as a false start or stutter.
• A false start is considered to be from one to three words. Please omit it. If the false start consists of four or more words, type it out.
• Never paraphrase!
• Do your best to avoid starting sentences with “and,” “but” or “so” for non-strict verbatim transcripts. We understand that at times it’s unavoidable (especially with “but”), but please do your best. For example, if a speaker continually uses “and” to begin a sentence, look at the words preceding or following the “and” to see if you can begin the sentence using one of those words (see non-verbatim vs. strict-verbatim example). Typically, these filler words do not affect the context.
• Use the word "like". Only remove it when used as a filler word. Type it out if it is used as a preposition, noun, and conjunction.

Strict Verbatim

Sometimes referred to as “verbatim,” means you are to capture every utterance by every speaker in the recording, including the um’s, uh’s, mm’s, hmm’s, false starts, stutters, fillers or partial words, etc.

• Follow each um, uh, and hmm that occur in the interview with a comma.
• Use an em dash, not a hyphen or en dash, for partial words that immediately follow with an abrupt change of thought.
• For example: I wish-I wish s—that I wou—wait, what?
• Use a hyphen (not em dash) between repeated words and stutters without a space before or after.
• For example: Um, and if you're-if you're able to value a business, you know, the shares are just bas-basically, uh, a currency you're gonna trade in, and that's a-all it is. I'm not-not-not sure about this.

Example: Non-Verbatim vs. Strict Verbatim

Format examples: