HIST 420: Voices of Protest

What is a transcript?

A transcript or transcription is a word-for-word written copy of a taped interview.

Why make transcripts?

Transcripts offer several important benefits, such as:

• aiding researchers in quickly skimming and assessing the relevance of an interview
• helping researchers understand voices on the tapes that are difficult to hear or understand
• providing, in the case of digital transcripts, the means to search via computer for specific words and phrases mentioned in the interview

How much time does it take to make a transcript?

Creating a transcript is time consuming but extremely valuable. Word processing software and other computer programs have made the task easier than before, but oral historians and folklorists estimate that it takes between six and twelve hours to transcribe one hour of an interview, plus additional time if you edit the transcript afterwards.

How thorough should the transcript be?

The goal is to create a transcript that is both accurate and understandable to the reader. It need not include every utterance or describe every background noise, but it should reproduce as closely as possible the speaker's words. It should also be consistent in the stylistic approach and level of detail throughout.

What are some tips for creating and editing transcripts?

• Listen to the recording in its entirety once to become familiar with the voices on the tape and the questions being asked.
• At the beginning of the transcript, identify who transcribed the tape, who edited the transcript, and the date(s) these tasks were done. When formatting the text on the page, use one-inch margins on each side of the paper; number the pages; and double-space the text.
• Identify all speakers at the start of their comments, by typing their initials in bolded capital letters, followed by a colon, e.g., SP:  [Salvador Peralta]
• Create a verbatim transcript, but omit such expressions as "um" or "ah." Include expressions such as "um­hum" or "huh-huh" when used to mean "yes" or "no" in response to specific questions.
• Do not revise the narrator's words to force them into standard written prose. Leave untouched any sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and incorrect grammar. Commas and dashes may be used to reflect pauses in the spoken words.
• Put in brackets explanations about why the interview was interrupted or why the recording was turned off, e.g., [Interview interrupted by a telephone call].
• Place a question mark before and after a word or phrase to indicate any uncertainty about it, e.g., (?destroyed?).
• Indicate the end of a recording, e.g. “Recording ends”
• Identify garbled or inaudible portions of the recording. If one word is inaudible, indicate the gap with a ___ . When multiple words are inaudible, insert ___+ or estimate the elapsed time using the indicator ___ .... (___seconds).

Adapted from the Veteran’s History Project for the CSU-Pueblo University Archives, 3/22/2010

Creating an Index for an Oral History Recording

You will be creating a simple index for a video interview.  The first thing you should do is listen to the interview once all the way through.  As you listen, jot down notes about topics covered in the narrative.  See the ‘Sample Index’ (below) for a model of how to do this.  The index doesn’t have to be very detailed; just note down the major things the person is talking about.

There should be a counter at the bottom of the box in which you are viewing the film.  If you look at the bottom of the screen, you will see the elapsed time of the recording as you listen – 00:00, 05:30, etc.

Look at the notes you just created as you listen through a second time, and note the time for each topic – see the ‘sample index’ for format.

This is the format for a simple index:

00:00     Introduction

02:10     Early years

07:40     Summer job in NY changes his view of segregated society at home

11:05     Enlisted in US Army, enjoys basic training as infantryman

13:44     Early racial integration of military, Leadership School

16:00     Shipped to Inchon, Korea, assigned to artillery unit

18:30     Typing skills lead to change of assignment as a cler

19:50     Korean War ends, duty as Corporal of the Guard, Company Clerk

23:10     Returns to the states, assigned to Ft. Rook, then Huntsville, AL

26:20     Second tour in Korea, 4th Missile Battalion, doing administrative work

29:30     Race issue affecting social life

30:00     Recording ends.

Colorado State University-Pueblo.  University Archives and Special Collections

 

 

Butch Chavez

Oral History Interview

 

Interviewed by Brandy Gomez

October 15, 2010

Colorado State University-Pueblo

Administration Building

Pueblo, Colorado

 

 

GOMEZ:  This is Brandy Gomez.  I’m interviewing Butch Chavez on October 15, 2010. This interview is taking place in the administration building of CSU-Pueblo. The interview is sponsored by the CSU-Pueblo University Archives and Special Collections, and is part of the southern Colorado Ethnic Heritage and Diversity Archives Project.  I want to confirm that Mr. Chavez understands that this interview is being recorded, and that this recording will be preserved at the CSU-Pueblo University Archives.

CHAVEZ:  I understand.

GOMEZ:  Thank you for agreeing to be interviewed with us.  We look forward to hearing all your information.  Now can you please state your name for us?

CHAVEZ:  I’m Butch Chavez.

GOMEZ:  And when and where were you born?

CHAVEZ:  I was born May 8^, 1946, here in Pueblo.

GOMEZ:  And, did you grow up in Pueblo also?

CHAVEZ:  Yes, born and raised, and got into a lot of trouble.

GOMEZ:  And have you just lived in Pueblo all your life?

CHAVEZ:  No, no.

GOMEZ:  Where else have you lived?

CHAVEZ:  I’ve lived in Denver after I got out of the service and Littleton [and] in Aurora.

GOMEZ:  What jobs have you had?

CHAVEZ:  I worked at Martin Marietta, working on the Titan IIIC missile. So, I did that for about five to six years.  And then I went into the real estate business, and I’ve been -- was in the real estate business for 38 years, up until just last year.

GOMEZ:  And what do you do now for a living?

CHAVEZ:  I’m retired.

GOMEZ:  Retired.

GOMEZ:  Enjoying the nice retired life. And we know that you’re involved in many veterans organizations now.

CHAVEZ:  Yes I am.

GOMEZ:  Can you tell us a little bit about those organizations?

CHAVEZ:  Yes I am a past Vice President of American Legion Riders.  It’s a motorcycle organization. It’s--it’s not a gang. We are just a group of veterans that like to ride motorcycles.  We all have the same passion and that’s helping veterans.  One of the major things we do is, or they do is, is raise funds to buy care packages for soldiers overseas, and  to have a little extra money to help soldiers out in need and veterans as well.  But it’s lately--it seems like when the soldiers deploy, the families are having problems financially, with utilities and stuff.  So,  we kind of help out if we can.

GOMEZ:  That sounds like a wonderful organization.

CHAVEZ:  Yes it is. It is.

GOMEZ:  And what were you doing before you entered the service?

CHAVEZ:  Uh, nothing.  That was one of the problems.  I graduated from South High School and, I don’t know what it was.  My parents had always instilled in me that I would never go to college.  I don’t know if it was the money portion of it, or they felt-- just felt that way.  So, I graduated, and just partied throughout the summer till my folks says, that’s got to stop, and they were going to kick me out.  So I says, well I’m going to show them, so I joined the Air Force.

GOMEZ:  And, so