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Re: Digital voice recorders for oral history interviews



My personal experience with voice recognition software was not very good. I got a contract to write a book at about the same time I realized that I had carpal tunnel syndrome, so I decided to try the voice recognition software that was paired with Lotus WordPro (ViaVoice, which I believe is Dragon). I did all the things they told me to do to get it to recognize my voice (reading a selected set of phrases), even doing the in-depth preparation as opposed to the short form. What it produced from my dictation required so much editing that I finally decided it wasn't worth it, and there were times when I would go back and look at something I had dictated and what the computer wrote was so garbled I couldn't figure out what I had said (of course, with the vocal recording available, that wouldn't be a problem). Since you wouldn't be able to prepare the software to recognize the voice, and it might not do so well with a regional accent, you might end up having to do a lot of correcting to the text it prepared.

I've since dealt with the carpal tunnel syndrome through other means, and I did finish and publish the book (_Long Distance Genealogy_, Betterway, 2000) 



Christine Crawford-Oppenheimer
Information Services Librarian

The Culinary Institute of America
1946 Campus Drive
Hyde Park, NY  12538
(845) 451-1322
c_crawfo@culinary.edu


>>> "Baird, Cathleen D" <CDBaird@CENTRAL.UH.EDU> 05/07/02 02:49PM >>>

Is anyone using or exploring the use of digital voice recorders for oral
history interviews?

Explanation:  There are now digital voice recorders that incorporate
'Dragon' voice-to-print software for under $250.00.  You can download the OH
interview to the computer -- you have both the digital voice, and you can
save-to-print using a word processing program such as Microsoft word so that
also gain a written transcript as well.   I suspect it would need editing/
perhaps heavy editing, but you would not have to pay a transcriber....or use
your limited time to perform that initial transcribing task.

Cathleen

Cathleen Baird, M.A., Director & Archivist
Hospitality Industry Archives
229  C.N. Hilton Hotel & College St., UH
Houston, TX 77204-3028

Tel: 713.743.2470   E-mail: CBaird@uh.edu 

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