Research transcripts. Keep every quote linked to its recording.

Move reviewed words into the research project

A research transcript becomes more useful when a colleague can return from a passage to the corresponding recording. Polyglot can transcribe authorized audio or video locally on an Apple Silicon Mac, support review alongside playback and export SRT. For the video-recording workflow here, MAXQDA documents importing SRT and converting its timestamps into links that play the associated video.

This is a preparation and acceptance workflow, not a direct integration. The receiving researcher imports the files and checks them in their installed MAXQDA version. Polyglot does not identify participants, code themes, analyze interviews or build a MAXQDA project. If your existing research software already provides adequate transcription and review, you may not need a separate preparation tool.

Agree the research copy before processing

Confirm that you are authorized to process the recording, produce the transcript and share both with the intended research team. Follow the study’s consent, storage and retention arrangements. GOV.UK’s user-research guidance explains recording consent evidence and connecting it to the corresponding research data; your study owner must determine the requirements that apply to your work.

Use an approved working copy with a stable filename and revision. If identifying material must be removed, arrange the media edits in suitable tools before producing timed text for that version. Replacing a name in captions does not remove a face or voice from the video. Polyglot does not anonymize recordings.

Local processing keeps media and transcript contents out of Polyglot’s separate network services, but does not control the receiving software, its storage settings or your sharing destination. Check those separately. Model downloads, user-controlled updates, optional content-free analytics and Pro licensing have their own network boundaries.

Review words without turning cues into findings

Generate the source-language draft, then listen through the material and correct recognition errors. Preserve wording that matters to your research question, including uncertainty and negatives. Confirm any participant labels manually; neither fluent text nor a timestamp establishes who spoke. Flag overlapping or unresolved speech for human review rather than assigning it to a convenient speaker.

Agree your transcription conventions with the researcher. A subtitle draft is not a conversation-analysis transcript: it does not establish every pause, overlap, gesture or vocal feature. If the method depends on those details, add the required annotation through an appropriate research workflow or choose a specialist transcription approach.

Keep an important distinction when importing SRT: subtitle cues divide text for timed presentation. They are not automatically complete answers, speaker turns, participant cases or units of meaning. A sentence may span several cues, and a cue can contain more than one voice. Read and listen across boundaries before selecting a passage for coding.

Export a matched SRT and media package

Export the reviewed original-language SRT and keep the exact video it describes. Record their filenames, revision, language, permission scope and review status in a separate handoff note. Keep the Polyglot project and earlier accepted exports so that a later correction does not erase the previous research reference.

The MAXQDA SRT manual describes importing the SRT as a document, selecting its corresponding video and using the resulting timestamps to play the source. Follow the current manual for your installed version. Do not assume that importing a readable TXT file creates the same links: Polyglot’s timestamped TXT is a reading reference, and receiver-specific timestamp parsing needs its own check.

The fictional note below is a manual acceptance aid, not app-generated analysis or a processed participant recording.

Fictional research handoff
Study: R4 / participant P07
Media: R4-P07-approved-v03.mp4
Text: R4-P07-v03-en.srt
Audience: approved study team

Anchor at 02:14:
“I did not feel ready.”
Review words across cues.
Keep preceding question.

Receiver check:
Link opens matching passage.
Speaker identity verified.
Coding decision kept separate.

Accept the import before anyone starts coding

Import into a new or appropriately backed-up receiving project first. Confirm the source filename and duration, inspect punctuation and non-English characters, and check that the first and last passages are present. Use timestamp links near the beginning, middle and end, plus every passage whose timing or wording was flagged. Listen to the surrounding question and answer rather than only the selected subtitle line.

Check the actual transferred package on the recipient’s machine. MAXQDA’s general transcript guidance says associated media is copied into its external-files folder; a handoff must account for that media as well as the project. Close and reopen the receiving project and verify playback again. A text document opening successfully does not establish that its recording is available.

If a timestamp opens the wrong passage, stop the analysis handoff and reconcile the media revision and timeline origin. Do not quietly compensate by assigning codes to a nearby sentence. This page is based on current documentation and Polyglot’s export capabilities; it does not report an installed MAXQDA compatibility test.

Keep corrections separate from coding decisions

After a researcher starts coding, treat a transcript correction as a revision requiring coordination. Supply a clearly named replacement and a manual change note. Ask the researcher to verify affected passages and code associations in the receiving project; do not assume a new SRT import preserves existing analysis. Keep the earlier package until the responsible owner accepts the replacement.

A translated track is another reviewed interpretation of the source, not a substitute for its original wording. Retain language and revision identity in each filename and ask an appropriate reviewer to check quotations that will support a finding. Export each agreed track separately.

Finish when the recipient can locate the agreed passages, identify unresolved material and distinguish transcript text from research notes. Polyglot prepares reviewed timed text; methodological judgments, research coding and permission decisions remain with your team.

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