universitytranscriptions.co.uk
Anonymised Transcription for Research Interviews
University Transcriptions provides human transcription with project-specific anonymisation or pseudonymisation for universities, researchers, public bodies and research organisations. Agree the required treatment before transcription begins: removing names alone may not prevent identification from context.
Anonymisation and pseudonymisation
Anonymisation aims to make individuals no longer identifiable, taking account of information and means reasonably likely to be used to identify them. Pseudonymisation replaces identifiers with codes or labels while allowing a link back using separately held information. Pseudonymised information remains personal data. Follow your institution’s ethics and information-governance requirements.
What can be replaced?
Subject to clear instructions, identifiers can include:
- Personal names and names of colleagues or relatives
- Organisations, employers, schools and universities
- Towns, locations and job titles
- Contact details and reference numbers
- Other project-specific identifying details
A simple example
Original: “My name is George and I work in Bradford.”
With agreed placeholders: “My name is <name1> and I work in <location1>.”
Consistent labels help distinguish different people and places. This example removes direct identifiers; the rest of an interview may still contain identifying details.
Agree the rules before work begins
Please provide:
- Identifiers to remove or replace
- Required placeholder format
- Whether replacements must remain consistent across files
- Any participant codes already assigned
- Instructions for indirect identifiers and uncertain cases
- A completed example where possible
Human transcription and review
Human transcribers process recordings under the applicable confidentiality and data-protection requirements. Replacements follow the agreed specification. The research team should review the completed document before analysis, publication or sharing and decide whether further anonymisation is required.
Retention and deletion
Source recordings are normally retained for 28 days unless a different period has been agreed. We keep a copy of completed transcripts for at least 12 months. If you would like transcripts deleted sooner, tell us when ordering or contact us afterwards. Certificates of Erasure are available on request after transcripts have been deleted. Ask us to confirm the deletion method and scope covered by the certificate.
Research documentation
We can provide service information to help with research ethics applications, data-management plans, Data Processing Agreements, supplier questionnaires, data-protection impact assessments and project-specific instructions.
Request a quote
Send the approximate recording duration, number of speakers, required turnaround and anonymisation specification. Agree the instructions and retention requirements before sending sensitive material.
