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Verbatim vs Clean Verbatim Transcription: Which Do You Need?

Verbatim vs clean verbatim transcription: what each keeps and removes, the edited intelligent style, one sentence three ways, and which suits which job.

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AI-assisted article. Drafted with AI tools from the sources cited below and checked by automated tests and an AI editorial review. No person has reviewed it yet. How we write and check articles.

Key takeaways

  • Verbatim transcription records every word, including fillers, false starts and repetitions, and even non-verbal cues such as laughter or pauses.
  • Clean verbatim keeps every meaningful word but drops fillers, stutters and false starts, so it reads more easily.
  • Intelligent, or edited, transcription goes further, correcting grammar and sometimes rephrasing for clarity.
  • ATLAS.ti's research guide suggests verbatim for studies of how people speak, and clean or intelligent styles for studies of what they say.
  • Whatever the style, quotes must be checked against the audio before they are used.

Every transcript involves a decision that is easy to make without noticing: how much of what was said, exactly as it was said, belongs on the page. Speech can be full of ums, restarts and repeated words that a listener filters out. Keep them and a transcript is faithful but hard to read; remove them and it reads well but loses information. This guide explains the three common styles and how to choose.

Transcription is representation

Wikipedia defines transcription, in linguistics, as the systematic representation of spoken language in written form, and notes it is essential to fields such as phonetics, conversation analysis and sociolinguistics, as well as everyday uses such as court proceedings and medical voice notes. "Systematic" is the key word: a good transcript follows consistent rules, whichever style it uses.

The three styles

The research guide from ATLAS.ti, a qualitative analysis software maker, describes three levels:

Style Keeps Removes
Verbatim Every word, fillers such as "um" and "you know", false starts, repetitions, and even non-verbal cues such as laughter, pauses and sighs Nothing
Clean verbatim Every meaningful word Fillers, stutters and false starts
Intelligent (edited) The meaning, in tidied form Fillers and repetitions; grammar is corrected and sentences may be rephrased

A worked example: one sentence, three ways

Here is a spoken answer, transcribed three ways.

Verbatim: "So, um, I— I think the, the biggest problem was, you know, the budget. [laughs] Yeah."

Clean verbatim: "So I think the biggest problem was the budget. Yeah."

Intelligent: "I think the biggest problem was the budget."

The verbatim version is 15 words, counting the bracketed laugh as a note rather than a word; clean verbatim is 10; intelligent is 8. Each step loses something. The verbatim hesitation and laugh may show the speaker was uncomfortable about the budget, which matters in a study of how people talk about money and not at all in a meeting summary.

Which to use when

ATLAS.ti's guide ties the choice to purpose. For studies of content, identifying themes and patterns in what people say, clean verbatim or intelligent transcriptions might be sufficient. For studies of how people communicate, such as sociolinguistics or discourse analysis, it says a verbatim transcription might be more appropriate, and gives the example of a sociolinguistic study needing non-verbal cues and speech anomalies.

Our own rules of thumb, which follow from that purpose test:

  • Lecture and study notes: clean verbatim.
  • Meeting records: clean verbatim, or intelligent for a summary.
  • Research on themes: clean verbatim.
  • Research on speech or interaction: verbatim, sometimes with specialised notation.
  • Legal or formal records: follow the rules of the body that needs them.
  • Quotes for publication: clean verbatim at most, checked word for word against the audio, without changing meaning.

Editing automatic transcripts

Automatic transcripts can land somewhere between verbatim and clean: some fillers in, some out, and the occasional misheard word. Decide your target style first, then edit towards it consistently. Never "clean up" a quote into words the speaker did not say; if you must shorten, mark the cut, and if meaning is in doubt, go back to the recording.

Marking what the words cannot show

Every style needs a few notes for things that are not words. The bracketed conventions below are a simple set this guide uses, not a formal standard:

Note Meaning
[inaudible] A word or phrase that cannot be made out
[crosstalk] People speaking over each other
[laughs], [pause] Non-verbal events, kept in verbatim transcripts
— An interruption or a sentence cut off
[?] A best guess at an uncertain word

Adding a timestamp beside an [inaudible] note, such as "[inaudible 12:41]", lets anyone return to the exact spot in the recording to try again.

Consistency matters more than the choice

Whichever style you choose, apply it the same way throughout, and note it at the top of the transcript, such as "clean verbatim; fillers removed; [inaudible] marks unclear audio". Anyone using the transcript later, including you, then knows what was kept and what was not. ATLAS.ti's guide also recommends reviewing and cross-checking the finished transcript against the recording, and adding annotations or time stamps where useful; adding timestamps covers that step.

Starting from an automatic transcript

Transcribe Audio to Text PRO, one of our video and utility apps, converts recordings into transcripts you can then edit into the style you need; its listing advises checking names, numbers and quotations against the original audio. Transcribing an interview and speech-to-text accuracy tips cover the steps around this one.

Good to know

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between verbatim and clean verbatim transcription?
Verbatim records everything said, including filler words such as um and uh, false starts, repetitions and even non-verbal cues such as laughter. Clean verbatim keeps every meaningful word but leaves out fillers, stutters and false starts, so it is easier to read.
What is intelligent verbatim transcription?
An edited style. ATLAS.ti's research guide describes intelligent, or edited, transcription as removing fillers and repetitions and also correcting grammar, sometimes rephrasing sentences for clarity. It says the style is typically used for transcripts intended for publication or for audiences not directly involved in the research.
Should a transcript include um and uh?
Only if how people speak matters to your purpose, such as discourse or conversation analysis. ATLAS.ti's guide says clean verbatim is usually preferred when the focus is on content rather than manner of speaking, and it is easier to read, as long as meaning is unchanged.
Which transcription style is best for research interviews?
It depends on the research question. ATLAS.ti's guide suggests clean verbatim or intelligent styles when the focus is content and themes, and full verbatim for studies of speech patterns and interaction, such as sociolinguistics or discourse analysis.

Sources

  1. Transcripts in Research: Overview, Types & Examples (opens in a new tab)ATLAS.ti — accessed
  2. Transcription (linguistics) (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia — accessed

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