Reporting and Transcription Technology
The pipeline
Technology questions test how keystrokes or voice input become a certified transcript: writer input → stroke-to-text translation → dictionary lookup → untranslate list → editing → transcript production. Know the roles of the CAT software, the main and job dictionaries, briefs, conflict resolution, global changes, and version control.
Concepts to master
- Dictionary architecture: entries, prefixes and suffixes, conflicts, job dictionaries versus the main dictionary.
- Untranslates: flagged words that fail lookup; not every untranslate is a writer error.
- Realtime: feeding text live to a laptop or remote platform; it demands clean writing and a mature dictionary.
- Output formats: text/ASCII, RTF, PDF, and e-transcript packages, plus backup audio and timestamps.
- Remote and digital workflows: videoconference depositions, audio-to-text syncing, exhibit scanning and hyperlinking.
Traps
A common question shows one word mistranslating repeatedly and asks for the best fix. Editing a single instance leaves the faulty dictionary entry in place, so the error returns. Another trap is treating realtime output as a certified transcript; it is a draft feed. A third is assuming every untranslate reflects bad writing when it may simply be a missing entry or a proper name.
Worked rule
Fix the dictionary, not just the transcript. If "statute" keeps appearing as "statue," correct or add the dictionary entry, run a global replace, then proofread the affected pages. For names, build a job dictionary before the proceeding begins.