Accessing Speech-to-Text

Griffith University members are able to log in directly without approval or account setup. The service is available at:

Speech-to-Text Transcription Service@Griffith

The Griffith VPN is required to use the Speech-to-Text Service.

You can log in using your Griffith credentials.

Once you successfully log in, there is a help file located on the front page, this is found by clicking the circled "i" symbol (for information) on the top right of the page.

If you experience any issues with this service, please fill in this form.

Note that any uploaded audio files and associated transcription older than 30 days will be automatically removed from the system. Since the system is not designed as a data repository, it is recommended that once you've completed the transcription of your uploaded audio, download the transcription and store your audio and transcription files on either SharePoint or Research Drive. Check out available research storage options.

Access to the application is only available to Griffith University members. If you would like to add someone external to Griffith, you will need to fill out this form to arrange a Griffith visitors account.

Resources

• Useful booklet regarding audio-visual recording in human research.
• This User Document (also available on the Speech-to-Text Service) will help you get started and is helpful for troubleshooting transcription errors.

Speech-To-Text FAQ - Improving the accuracy of transcriptions

You should consider the following tips in preparation for recording an interview for transcription with Griffith's Speech-to-text service.

1. Please speak as clear as possible. Refrain from speaking too fast.
2. Try not to speak over each other. The transcriptions will not be able to differentiate the speakers and can add it all into the same sentence.
3. Pause between sentences. AI uses gaps between voices for punctuation.
4. When conducting phone interviews, please do not use a separate recorder that is external to the phone, if it is possible use the internal recorder. Using an external recorder for phone interviews will significantly decrease transcription accuracy, especially for the person being interviewed.

Recording Devices

There are several options available to record a phone interview or virtual meeting.

Phone calls using Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams Calling has arrived and the Griffith office desk phones are being phased out. (Emergency numbers will work on the desk phone) You can use Microsoft Teams to make calls to phone numbers.  You can review the Microsoft Teams Calling SharePoint site for more information on how to use this service.

Recording phone calls works the same way as you record meetings/calls.

Microsoft Teams

A comprehensive video about recording interviews in Teams can be found here.

Third Party Audio/Screen recorders

There may be some scenarios where your interview is digital and you can not record using Teams. In these situations you must ensure you have consent and follow the appropriate ethic guidelines but you can use screen recorder or audio recorder software.

On a Windows 11, use the built in program "Game Bar"

On a macOS Mojave or later, use the built in program "Screenshot toolbar"

There are also downloadable tools like Audacity and OBS that can be used to capture recording through your computer.

Then you can extract the audio from the video file.  "VLC media player" is the recommended software, and comes installed on all Griffith computers. Use the following video to help you with the process. How to convert Video to MP3.

It's recommended to have the following settings when converting the file:

• File type: MP3
• Audio Channels: 1 (to ensure the file works for diarization)

You can also use the command line tool "ffmpeg" to extract audio from video, and to change audio formats.