Transcription advice
You must consider information security and confidentiality when you record or transcribe interviews as part of your work.
Recording interviews
As it is difficult to guarantee that a recorded interview will not contain personally identifiable data, you must assume that all recordings will be subject to the Data Protection Act. As a result, you must adopt an approach that ensures the security of the recording and its content.
Interviews must be recorded on an encrypted device. Ideally, this should be a University managed smartphone, tablet or laptop. In some cases a bespoke digital recording device may be desirable - please contact IT Services for guidance on choosing and ordering a digital recorder.
Transcribing interviews
To transcribe interviews, you must take one of the following approaches so that the security of the recording content is not compromised:
- The recording can be transcribed by a member of University staff on a University managed computer.
- The recording can be transcribed by a member of University staff on the Staff Remote Desktop service.
- The recording can be transcribed by UK Transcription Limited, Rapid Transcriptions, The Transcription Company UK, Fingertips Typing Services, Bristol Transcription & Translation Services Limited or Victoria Pink Transcription. These are currently the only external transcription companies which have been approved to process data subject to the Data Protection Act, for which the University is the data controller (all suppliers listed above have entered into a formal personal data processing agreement drawn up by the Secretary's Office). When confidential and sensitive information is involved, Bristol Transcription & Translation Services Limited is the University's preferred supplier, having been approved for Cyber Essentials, ISO:29001 and ISO:27001 certification.
Transferring recordings to a transcriber or transcription service
Recordings must be securely transferred to transcribers. This transfer could take the form of:
- a secure upload to an approved transcriber’s website
- a University approved encrypted memory stick that supports AES 256-bit encryption and is FIPS 140-2 compliant (you can order a memory stick through IT Services)
- a file encrypted to AES 256-bit encryption using a utility like 7-Zip that is transferred via the University’s Facility for the Upload of Large Files service (FLUFF).
If an encrypted memory stick containing an encrypted recording is transferred to a transcriber via the post, it must be sent by recorded delivery or another method that allows you to receive proof of delivery.
Passwords or encryption keys must not be sent with the recording. Please send or share passwords or encryption keys by another method, for example by telephone, email or on a Teams call.
Transferring recordings from a transcriber or transcription service
Before a transcription service sends you transcribed recordings, you must ensure that:
- Any transcribed recordings will be sent to you securely, in an encrypted format with passwords and encryption keys sent by a different method to the recording.
- Any original recordings are deleted by the transcription service or securely returned to you.