Transcribe Interview for a Thesis or Dissertation

Which transcript style does a thesis interview need?

Before you transcribe anything, decide how much detail your analysis needs. The style should follow your method, not the tool you use.

Full verbatim: every word, filler, false start, pause and laugh. Needed for conversation analysis, discourse analysis or linguistic work.
Clean verbatim: every word that carries meaning, without fillers such as um, repetitions or stutters. Common for thematic analysis, grounded theory and most interview-based theses.
Summary notes: key points only. Rarely accepted as data, but useful for a first overview or a pilot interview.

Write your choice and its rules into the methods chapter: how you mark pauses, unclear passages and non-verbal cues. Examiners look for consistency more than for one particular convention. If you are unsure, ask your supervisor which rules your department expects before the first interview.

How do you record an interview so the transcript comes out clean?

Transcript quality is largely decided at recording time. A few habits save hours of correction later:

Choose a quiet room with soft furnishings; avoid cafés, open windows and humming fans.
Place the phone or recorder between you and the participant, closer to whoever speaks more softly.
Record a short test and play it back before you start.
Ask people not to talk over each other, and repeat key names or technical terms clearly.
Keep one file per interview and name it with a participant code, such as P03_2026-10-02, not a real name.

For online interviews, use the meeting platform's own recording and keep the file. Our guide to transcribing a Zoom recording explains how to find and send it to your phone.

Step by step

Choose your transcript style
Agree with your supervisor on full or clean verbatim, and write down how you will mark pauses, unclear passages and speakers.
Record each interview as its own file
Use a quiet room, test the sound first, and name the file with a participant code rather than a real name.
Share the recording to Zeepit
On iPhone or Android, tap Share on the audio in your recorder, Files, Drive or WhatsApp and choose Zeepit, or pick the file in the app. Recordings up to 4 hours work.
Check the transcript against the audio
Listen once from start to finish, fix names and jargon, and mark unclear passages with a consistent tag such as [inaudible].
Label speakers and pseudonymize
Add speaker codes such as I: and P03:, then replace names, places and other identifying details with codes.
Export for analysis
Export a DOCX, PDF or plain-text file and import it into your analysis software or a secure project folder.

How to transcribe a thesis interview on your phone

Typing an interview by hand takes several times the length of the recording. A transcription app produces the first draft, so your time goes into checking instead of typing.

With Zeepit on iPhone or Android, there is nothing to upload from a computer and nothing to convert:

In your voice recorder, Files, Google Drive or WhatsApp, tap Share on the recording and choose Zeepit, or open the app and pick the file.
Common formats work directly: m4a, mp3, wav, ogg, flac, amr and others, plus video files such as mp4 or mov, where only the audio track is used.
Each recording can be up to 4 hours long, so a long interview does not need splitting.
The language is detected automatically.

You get the full transcript, word for word, plus an instant summary in short, medium or long form. The summary helps with field notes; your analysis should rely on the transcript. Your first conversions are free after install, long recordings included, with no account and no card.

How to check, label and anonymize the transcript

A machine-made transcript is a draft. For research data, review it against the audio once, from start to finish.

Correct names, place names, jargon and acronyms that may have been misheard.
Label speakers consistently, for example I: for the interviewer and P03: for the participant.
Mark gaps with a fixed convention such as [inaudible] or [crosstalk] rather than guessing.
Pseudonymize: replace names, employers, towns and other identifying details with codes or neutral descriptions, and keep the key file separately.
Apply your style rules the same way in every interview.

From Zeepit you can copy or share the text, or export a Word (DOCX), PDF or plain-text file generated on the device. A DOCX or TXT file can be imported into qualitative analysis software such as NVivo, ATLAS.ti or MAXQDA, or coded in a word processor.

Can you use a transcription app under your ethics approval?

Often yes, but it depends on what your consent form and data management plan say. Check three things before sending a recording to any service:

Does the consent form mention that recordings may be processed by a transcription service?
Does your university require approved tools, or restrict where data may be processed?
How long does the service keep the audio, and is it reused?

On the last point, here is how Zeepit works: the file is sent to Zeepit's servers, transcribed, and deleted right after. There is no archive, no reuse and no AI training on your recordings. Transcripts and summaries stay on your phone. Whether that fits your project is a decision for you, your supervisor and, where relevant, your ethics committee or data protection officer.

Whatever tool you use, store raw recordings and identifiable transcripts where your plan specifies, and delete them when it says so.

What if the interview is in another language?

Many theses in Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark rest on interviews in Portuguese, German, Dutch, Swedish or Danish, then get written up in English. A sound workflow:

Transcribe in the original language first. That transcript is your data, and coding usually happens on it.
Translate only the quotes you cite, and show the original in a footnote or appendix if your guidelines ask for it.
Have a fluent speaker check any translated quote that carries an argument.

Language detection is automatic, and transcription, summary and translation work across dozens of languages. If you need a working translation of a whole interview, see how to translate an audio recording into another language. Treat it as a reading aid: quotes in your thesis deserve a careful human check.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to transcribe a one-hour interview?

By hand, it usually takes several hours because you pause and rewind constantly. With a transcription app, the draft is ready much faster, and your time goes into one careful listen-through to correct names, label speakers and pseudonymize. Plan that review time for every interview.

Do I need a verbatim transcript for my thesis?

It depends on your method. Conversation and discourse analysis need full verbatim with fillers and pauses. Thematic analysis and most qualitative interview studies use clean verbatim. Whatever you choose, describe your transcription rules in the methods chapter and apply them consistently.

Can I transcribe an interview for free?

Yes. You can type it yourself, or use an app with a free start. Zeepit's first conversions are free right after install, long recordings included, with no account, no card and no ads. After that, a subscription is available if you need more, and your usage is shown in the app.

Is it allowed to use a transcription app for research interviews?

It can be, if your consent form and data management plan allow it. Check whether participants agreed to processing by a service, whether your university restricts tools, and how long the service keeps audio. Pseudonymize transcripts and store files where your plan specifies.

How do I transcribe an interview recorded on Zoom or Teams?

Save the recording the platform produces, move the file to your phone, for example through Google Drive, then share it to a transcription app. Zeepit accepts mp4 and other video files and uses only the audio track. It runs on iPhone and Android; there is no desktop or web upload.