Practice Better Self Care With a Better Research Workflow

It’s been a stressful year… to put it incredibly mildly. And as people have felt increasingly anxious and uncertain, we’ve all turned to self-care routines. We’re meditating more. We’re buying more houseplants. We’re unplugging from social media. And we seem to be baking a whole lot of bread.

These little acts help alleviate stress, especially in a time when so many industries are facing unprecedented chaos. Consumer behavior is changing rapidly, as are their demands for products and services. Researchers are under immense pressure to understand these new market landscapes and deliver insights quickly.

One big problem, though: the way research is conducted has been disrupted as well. Focus groups are now much harder to host online, forcing many researchers to rely on in-depth interviews for qualitative data and new processes for analysis. These new processes can be sources of unnecessary stress if they’re not optimized — and for researchers, that’s where transcription can really come in handy.

Sure, unwinding with a DIY face peel, a Pumpkin-Spice-scented candle, and some delicious zucchini loaf is great, but a streamlined, efficient research workflow can be its own kind of self-care. More stressors are the last thing you need, and adding an industry-leading transcription service like Rev into your workflow can be a major stress reliever. In many ways, we’ve adapted our own methods to better suit the needs of our customers, just as you have.

 

Record Your Calls Seamlessly

Easy recording is key to a stress-free interview process. If recording interviews is a regular part of your workday, then you’ve probably had to get creative with your recording setup on at least a couple of occasions. Capturing phone interview audio can involve multiple devices, cables, and opportunities for dropped calls or lost recordings — which is exactly why Rev offers a free Call Recorder app providing unlimited, one-step recordings. The app’s easy call flow cuts down on any opportunities for dropped calls or lost recordings, and allows users to order transcripts directly within the app. If you’re recording via Zoom (as so many researchers are lately), you can simply upload your files to Rev.com and order transcripts. Alternatively, you could just submit your Zoom recording link, eliminating the need to download the recording and re-upload to Rev. You can also submit recordings leveraging Rev’s integrations with Dropbox, Google Drive, or via API.

 

Transcript Accuracy You Can Count On

Learning to say “no” to things is another important tenet of a healthy self-care routine. And learning to say “no” to unreliable and inaccurate transcripts will put you on a path to a smoother, more efficient workflow. Transcript accuracy is key to the insights industry, because major business decisions hinge on the research you do. Inaccuracies in final transcripts and reports just create more work — not to mention uncomfortable conversations with clients and stakeholders.

A transcription service like Rev guarantees 99% accurate transcripts of your interviews, so you don’t have to worry about racing to take notes. Instead, you can be fully present during the interview, ask the right follow-up questions, and make note of key quotes, then refer to the transcript after the session. Virtual interviews have many variables, from spotty internet connections to more opportunities for subjects to get distracted. With a Rev transcript, researchers can rest easy knowing they’ll have every word, nuance, and false start captured in text form.

Streamlined workflows also rely on speed. Some transcription services promise turnaround times days after you submit your files. But with Rev, you can get an accurate transcript of a 60-minute IDI in a matter of hours. And with a team of more than 50,000 transcription professionals, Rev is a scalable solution for all of your transcription needs, no matter how many IDIs or focus group recordings you need transcribed.

 

Organize, Analyze, and Keep the Joy In Your Work

Once you have your transcripts, you can organize them by folder within the Rev platform. If Marie Kondo taught us anything, it’s that de-cluttering can really help you de-stress (well, that, and the virtues of rolling shirts when you store them). With Rev, you can also de-clutter your transcript library, creating folders by project or client.

Rev’s Transcript Editor gives you and your team the ability to make any necessary changes to the transcript — you can highlight, edit for misspellings, annotate, and easily find key quotes. And since Rev transcripts are shareable, multiple people can analyze the same interview, highlight insights, and compile final reports faster. These highlighted sections can be exported from the transcript for easy inclusion in your ultimate analysis. Plus, the editor enables you to edit the transcript so that you can deliver a polished version to your client.

The Transcript Editor is a valuable tool for coding patterns and themes within your research. You can pull direct quotes from your interviews and organize them into themes and takeaways, allowing you to easily see commonalities across interviews. One you’ve identified these, you can create a coding system and translate it into an insights report or presentation to share with internal stakeholders.

It’s been a tough year, and everyone is in need of a little TLC. But when it comes down to it, self-care doesn’t just mean bubble-baths, yoga classes, and amazing Challah bread French toast — researchers can make quick quality of life improvements with a few easy tweaks to their workflows. By removing tedious, time-consuming tasks, you can get back to the parts of your job that you love doing. With an industry-leading transcription partner like Rev, insights professionals can streamline their work from the initial interview recording all the way through to final report delivery. Is it as good as a deep-tissue massage? We’ll let you be the judge.

 

Want to learn more about how Rev can be a major stress-reliever in your workflow? Learn more here.

 

 

Photo by Ashley Batz on Unsplash