The common description of transcription services is the practice of taking voice or audio from one source and transcribing it (typing or writing) into a written medium. The dictionary definition of transcription is "a written or printed representation of something" or "the action or process of transcribing something." Transcription doesn’t actually have to involve an audio source. Certificates, identification, handwritten letters, and more can be transcribed and presented as a PDF or MS Word document. This is called text transcription.

While the process is virtually the same for every industry, there are different types of transcription that require individual research, training, education and understanding in order to effectively handle and transcribe the material.

Legal Transcription Services

This type of transcription service is utilized by legal firms, municipal, state and federal authorities, courts, mediators and other legal professionals. The most common types of transcription within the legal realm have to do with court hearings, depositions, prisoner interrogations and affidavits as well as general correspondence.

Medical Transcription Services

Medical transcription requires a great depth of training due to the medical terminology. In most cases the service would receive clinical notes that have been dictated into a voicemail system or into a digital recording device. These notes can include patient information, charting and treatment, medications, pre and post-operative observations, meetings and more. While short in nature, they are often delivered in high volume. Medical transcription companies often carry certifications involving medical terminology and must follow privacy practices and HIPAA protocols.

Academic Transcription Services

A variety of colleges and universities utilize transcription services in order to obtain physical scripts of lectures, meetings, dissertations, group learning sessions, oral histories, presentations, conferences and more. Some students with larger class loads may even record their classroom time, sending the digital recordings out for transcription from which they later study and highlight notes.

Market Research and General Business Transcription Services

Market research often involves polling groups of individuals either in blind studies or in focus groups to garner opinions. These recorded sessions can be transcribed for simple inclusion in case studies and to mine data at a later date.

Businesses also turn to transcription services for other marketing means. For example, many businesses have taken to utilizing video and audio for marketing on the web as well as in-person. Seminars, webinars, video blogging and podcasting are all audio based. In order to get the most out of this marketing, companies can produce the transcript that is then made available to customers and followers or stored on the web, making it searchable by Google and other search engines.

Spanish Transcription Services

Spanish transcription is actually applicable to just about any other variety of transcription services. Whether it’s business, legal, academic, professional or even personal, there’s a need for Spanish transcription. As of 2010, there were more than 37 million people throughout the United States with Spanish as a primary language. For those who do not speak or understand English, Spanish transcription and translation can ensure that no language barrier exists and all audio can be transcribed in English.

In most cases of professional transcription, companies will certify documents once the work is complete. This certification is effectively a "seal", stating that the completed works are in the same form as they were when transcription was completed, and that the data has never been altered.

If you’re unsure whether or not a transcription company can meet your needs, contact them and review their services. Provide them with the details of your project and they can let you know which type of transcription is most appropriate.