March 2018

You know the drill:

• Research topic
• Funding approval
• Team personnel
• Arrange interviews / focus groups
• Sushi / sandwich platters
• Set up recording equipment (of sorts…throw a smart phone on the table…who was in charge?)
• Transcribe interviews and focus groups…if you have an account with OutScribe.

The academic year has launched and the transcriptionists are busily transcribing hours and hours of interviews and focus groups. This will provide copious amounts of qualitative data for analysis and the quality of that data relies very heavily on two points; 1) the skill and accuracy of the transcriptionist, and 2) the recording quality of the audio files.

We believe that we’ve got the first point covered for you, but in the next few newsletters we will be providing some essential tips to help you achieve high quality audio files.

For now, let me cover some suitable indoor venues to record dictation, interviews and focus groups.

Libraries

Cafes (especially not the table next to the espresso machine)

Airplane hangars (seriously Tim, what were you thinking?)

Meeting rooms

Maxwell Smart’s cone of silence

Train stations

Lounge rooms (turn off the TV and noisy fans)

Offices (close the doors)

The 22^nd February 2018 heralded in a new era of data breach notification laws.

Every Australian entity that has a turnover greater than $3M and some other defined entities such as health service providers, must comply with the Privacy Act 1988. The Privacy Act defines how personal information about an individual is handled.

The change that came about on 22^nd February, commences the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme. When a data breach is likely to result in an individual suffering serious harm then the entity must notify both the individuals that are likely affected by the breach and the Australian Information Commissioner.

Deciding when ‘serious harm’ is likely to occur is also not an easy exercise in itself.

OutScribe began as a start-up in 2004. Brendan (my husband) created the website and I (Christina) populated it with data. I was also the administrator, day-to-day manager, transcriptionist, accounts department and director. He was the IT techie and director. We made a great team, and still do.

We went with the online route even though a lot of other transcription businesses in those days were still using cassettes (mini and/or micro). We decided to focus on the future of digital recordings and provide clients with a secure online interface for their audio files. It saved them time and bother, and eliminated the need to post valuable data, as reliable as Australia Post could be.

In our humble beginnings, our office was in our rumpus room in Hallett Cove where we could see magnificent sunsets over the water. Now we have offices in the beautiful and spacious greenery of Adelaide Hills; so we have migrated from beach to bush.

From just the two of us OutScribe has enjoyed growth every year and there are four directors (all Pike family) and two managers. Our family has grown as well and my duties now include homeschooling our daughter and son.

Medical specialists, lawyers, barristers, financial consultants, academics and government departments are among OutScribe’s clients. They upload audio files easily to OutScribe’s Australian servers and transcriptionists complete the work accurately and to deadline. The system we have developed ensures security and confidentiality, as well as the very important factors of being easily navigated and utilised.

For 14 years, OutScribe has proudly promoted itself as a wholly Australian family-owned and run business. It is our fervent desire to continue to grow OutScribe and support the Australian economy. We thank our past, present and future clients for your support and for choosing to use OutScribe.