INTRODUCING THE HSR&D
CENTRALIZED TRANSCRIPTION
SERVICES PROGRAM (CTSP)
SUSAN ZICKMUND, PHD
DIRECTOR, CTSP
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, IDEAS 2.0 COIN, VA SALT LAKE CITY
PROFESSOR OF INTERNAL MEDICINE, UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
POLL #1
How many participants are using, have
received a budget to use, or are
contemplating using the CTSP?
1. Currently using the service
2. Have a budget from CTSP to use the
service
3. Do not have a budget, but are
contemplating using the service
HISTORY OF THE CTSP
• HSR&D needed to address contract delays affecting transcription
• Delays were leading to project modifications
• In Fiscal Year (FY)15 HSR&D funded a transcription and survey
needs assessment to better understand the field’s interests in
having methodology services available behind the VA firewall
• Based on an investigator survey (N=173) and COIN AO survey
(N=20) conducted at the VA Pittsburgh CHERP Center of
Innovation (COIN), 80% of participants expressed interest in a
Centralized Transcription Services Program
HISTORY OF THE CTSP
• FY15 Dr. Zickmund added transcription services to her CHERP-
based qualitative core
• Spring FY16 her team was selected for a 6-month HSR&D
Transcription Pilot
• Summer FY16 she moved to VA Salt Lake City IDEAS 2.0 COIN
with a loss of her Pittsburgh team
• Fall FY16 Dr. Zickmund applied for the national Centralized
Transcription Service Program award after moving to the VA Salt
Lake City IDEAS 2.0 COIN
• October 1 2016 CTSP was established and hiring of staff began
SERVICES PROGRAM MODEL
• First HSR&D national Services
Program (a different model
than Resource Centers)
• 3 years of core funding with
the goal of self-sufficiency
after that time
SERVICES
Transcription services cover a
wide range of qualitative
research:
• One-on-one interviews
• Multi-person interviews
(tracked and untracked)
• Focus groups (tracked and
untracked)
• Observational recordings
(e.g. provider-patient visit)
TYPES OF VERBATIM TRANSCRIPTION:
NATURALIZED
• Naturalized Transcription:
Every utterance is captured in
the transcript. The naturalized
template includes all words,
phrases, pauses, sounds, and
any other component of the
event that is captured on tape.
TYPE OF VERBATIM TRANSCRIPTION:
DE-NATURALIZED
• De-naturalized Transcription:
Utterances that do not
contribute to the meaning of
the conversation (e.g. “um,”
“like,” “you know”) are edited
out of the transcript to make a
more readable text.
CTSP PROCESS
• All services housed within the VA firewall
• VA staff are granted access to local research drives
• All transcription is completed within that study’s research server
• The CTSP has been deemed by the VA Salt Lake City IRB as “not
human subjects research”
• This helps avoid VA Salt Lake City delays (and at times addresses
local delays as well)
CTSP PROCESS
• CTSP requires no contracting
• Funds are distributed either via
Central Office or (for local projects)
via a VA to VA transfer
STEPS TO USING THE CTSP
• The project site creates a storage drive, giving access to CTSP
personnel
• We provide a list of individuals needing access
• Once the storage drive has been created the project site sends the
link to CTSP so we can check that we have access
• CTSP will add a “tracking sheet” and other transcription folders to
the drive
STEPS TO USING THE CTSP
• When the project site uploads audio they will add file names and
lengths to the “tracking sheet” and also alert CTSP that they’ve
done so
• The transcriptionists transcribe the audio and store the transcription
in their individual folder on that site’s local drive, also noting their
progress on the tracking sheet
• The transcript is then verified and when complete, put in the
verified folder
• Transcripts in the verified folder are complete
STEPS FOR INCLUDING CTSP IN PROPOSALS
From HSR&D RFA:
• Contact CTSP to receive a budget for service
• If not using the service, provide “in your budget justification a brief
summary of the reason(s) for not utilizing the CTSP.”
• Include Susan Zickmund’s biosketch (no Other Support document)
• If VA Salt Lake City is not a site, add it as an additional site to the
budget with Dr. Zickmund “listed as the site investigator who is
responsible for the funds sent to and the work performed at SLC.”
• Dr. Zickmund’s percent effort is listed as “N/A” and her salary as
“contributed”
STEPS FOR INCLUDING CTSP IN PROPOSALS
• If SLC is already a site, Dr. Zickmund “need not be listed as a site
investigator if one already exists”
• Also list the “CTSP Transcription Services (SLC)” along with
associated funds under “other direct costs” on the summary budget
worksheet.
• Include a brief description of the CTSP quote in the written budget
justification and if not using the CTSP include a brief summary of
the reason for not utilizing it
• The CTSP budget does not need to be included as an Appendix.
SAMPLE BUDGET JUSTIFICATION LANGUAGE FOR
CTSP
Please supply the project-specific details (below). This is the place to meet the VA HSR&D
CO language request: “Include a brief description of the CTSP quote in the written budget
justification.”
• HSR&D Centralized Transcription Service Program (CTSP) will provide all transcription services
for this project. The CTSP is housed with the Veterans Health Administration Salt Lake City’s
(VHASLC) Informatics, Decision-Enhancement and Analytic Sciences (IDEAS 2.0) Center of
Innovation (COIN). The CTSP employs VA and/or Without Compensation (WOC) employees
and all transcription occurs within the VA firewall. A total of ____ in transcription funds will
be requested for ___ year(s) of the ____-year project.
SAMPLE BUDGET JUSTIFICATION LANGUAGE FOR
DR. ZICKMUND
Susan Zickmund, PhD (no effort). Dr. Zickmund is a Research Scientist at the Veterans Health
Administration Salt Lake City’s (VHASLC) and the Director of the VA HSR&D-funded
Centralized Transcription Services Program (CTSP). She is also the Associate Director of the
Informatics, Decision-Enhancement and Analytic Sciences Center (IDEAS 2.0) Center for
Innovation (COIN). She brings extensive experience in guiding qualitative data collection,
transcription and analysis. She has worked with multiple investigators from many COINS and
has supervised over several thousand hours of qualitative data collection and analysis,
including transcription. She supervises the CTSP transcriptionists dedicated to producing
verbatim transcriptions for research investigators as well as the CTSP coordinators who
monitor the efficiency and the quality of all transcription services.
CTSP SUGGESTED IRB LANGUAGE
Approved staff from the VA Salt Lake City (VASLC) will transcribe the [name of study] audio files. The VASLC
has a Professional Transcription Service available to VA sites and monitored by their own IRB. The [name of
study] audio recordings to be transcribed by VASLC staff will be labeled by the subject's unique alphanumeric
code and saved behind the VA Firewall in [name of study]’s secure shared project folder on [location of
project share drive]. The VASLC transcription staff will be given access to a sub-folder within [name of study]’s
secure project folder: [name of folder where audio files are located]. Approved study staff will place a copy
of the audio files in this folder for an approved VASLC transcriptionist to access for the purposes of
transcription. The VASLC transcriptionist will transcribe each interview verbatim and save the completed
transcript in the sub-folder using the same alphanumeric code. No data (audio files, in process transcripts, or
completed transcripts) will leave the [name of home VAMC] secure research server. As completed transcripts
become available, approved study staff will move these files from the transcription sub-folder into another
sub-folder that is only accessible to study staff, where they will be stored and accessed for qualitative
analyses.
QUALITY
• Staff are trained to understand the transcription needs of
qualitative researchers
• This process helps us to provide high quality focus group and
interview transcripts
• We also extensively research VA terms and acronyms
• We also include a 100% verification process to help ensure that
transcripts are accurate
12
CHALLENGES/STAFFING
CTSP Employment Trends
0
2
4
6
8
10
Spring 2016 Summer 2016 Fall 2016 Winter 2016-17 Spring 2017 Summer 2017 Fall 2017 Winter 2017 (projected)
Full-time(VA) Full-time (University Overtime (VA) Part-time (University)
CHALLENGES/STAFFING
• Open to discussing any way to
augment VA staff that has been used
successfully in the field
• Having a larger and also flexible
staff who can be tapped when
demands spike would be ideal
TURNAROUND TIME
• We organize transcription by the project
• A project must advance through the queue to be worked on
• With current staffing levels it takes ~two months for a project to
move up the queue to be worked on
• Our CTSP goal is to have a larger staff for quick turnaround time
• We need to take care not to be too large as excess staff would
result in higher costs, resulting in added transcription costs
TURNAROUND TIME
The CTSP goal is to provide a
two week turnaround on audio
files once all administrative
barriers to initiating a project
are addressed
CHANGES TO PROMOTE EFFICIENCY AND
FAIRNESS
• We are in the process of transitioning from a project-based queue
system to an audio file system
• Currently we work on the oldest projects which often continue to
add new audio files
• This system results in completion of files that are newer to the
queue than those of other projects
CHANGES IN EFFICIENCY
We will move to a system
where the oldest audio files
are transcribed first regardless
of where the project is in a
queue
NEW WEBSITE
• We are working with CIDER to develop an official HSR&D CTSP
website
• All forms—including request forms—will be available on the
website
• Requests can be e-mailed from the site and will also be uploaded
into a database
• We are also exploring whether we can provide a budget
calculator so that investigators can work through various scenarios
to determine the transcription budget that works for them
SUGGESTIONS FOR CLEAR AUDIO RECORDINGS
• Poor audio recordings lead to
added costs for the research
team and greater delays
• From our hundreds of hours of
transcription we have
developed tips for improving
audio quality
AUDIO RECORDERS
• High quality audio recorders produce better audio files
• Expensive, high end recorders (~$500) produce files that can be
transcribed more easily, resulting in lower costs
• If the Center or the investigator is involved in many qualitative
projects, investing in a quality audio recorder may be worth it
SUGGESTIONS FOR CLEAR AUDIO RECORDINGS
• Pilot test interviews or focus groups
• Listen to a piloted interview to see if both the interviewer and
interviewee can be heard
• Avoid loud settings
• Do not collect data in loud establishments like restaurants or
bars or where there is loud noise/large crowds or children
• Avoid rooms with echoes or with traffic noises
SUGGESTIONS FOR CLEAR AUDIO RECORDINGS
• Make certain with in-person interviews to place the recorder closer
to the participant than the interviewer
• Train interviewers to project their voices and to speak clearly
• When conducting telephone interviews purchase an audio recorder
telephone jack
• The sound quality will be substantially better
• Listen to recordings as data is collected to avoid systemic problems
SUGGESTIONS FOR CLEAR AUDIO RECORDINGS
• For focus groups, use two audio
recorders—one at each end of
the table
• Avoid ordering food that
makes noise during the focus
groups (soda cans, cellophane
wrapped sandwiches, chips)
AUDIO RECORDERS AND
DATA SECURITY ISSUES
• Be aware that there are national issues with audio recorders
• New IT security standards may block the downloading of audio
files
• A waiver from your local ISO to use your digital recorders may
help you to address this
• Recorders that are FIPS-140-2 compliant are likely allowed
• For further information contact Kristen Mattocks
(Kristen.mattocks@va.gov)
SERVICES AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS
As staffing increases there are
additional
advances/innovative resources
that the CTSP can bring to the
HSR&D community
QUALITATIVE SCAN
• The CTSP can capture the
frequency of qualitative work
being conducted within HSR&D
• As all submitted awards must
contact our office for a
budget, we have the ability to
share with HSR&D CO the
amount of qualitative work
accomplished in the field
QUALITATIVE REPOSITORY
• While many logistical issues must be addressed, the CTSP can be
developed into a repository of qualitative transcripts
• Such a repository—especially if it incorporates codes and is
indexed—could facilitate secondary qualitative data analyses
and meta-analyses
• Given the size of HSR&D qualitative research, such a repository
could promote robust qualitative analyses as well as facilitate the
analysis of rare populations
RAPID TURNAROUND SERVICES
• Once staffing is fully achieved, the CTSP can offer studies with
pressing needs rapid turnaround services
• It would be critical that other studies do not have greater than a
two week turnaround period
• Professional transcription services in the private sector offer a
variety of such rapid turnaround services for different prices
VA SALT LAKE CITY IDEAS COIN QUALITATIVE CORE
• Currently building a PhD/MA trained
team of qualitative analysts who are
distinct from the CTSP transcription
team
• For clients without local expertise, we
can offer the resources for conducting
qualitative coding and analyses
CONCLUSION
• The CTSP is a new national HSR&D service that does not require
contracting outside of the VA, and avoids data security issues by
having all transcriptions completed behind the VA firewall
• There are multiple types of services to support qualitative
research
CTSP AND THE IDEAS 2.0 COIN QUALITATIVE CORE
