Transcript Slide 1

The Scoop About
Scoping
Judy Rakocinski & Cathy Watson
BeST Scoping Techniques
Burned Out?
Use A Scopist!
What Is A Scopist?
A scopist is a professional who uses computer-aided
transcription software to edit transcripts for court
reporters.
The scopist receives the reporter's translated,
unedited, unresearched job on a computer disk or via
modem or email. With the aid of a CAT system and
the scopist's skills of translating any remaining
undefined steno into English, punctuating,
researching and formatting, flagging any questionable
areas, the transcript is then returned to the reporter
ready to be proofread.
Basic skills include but are not limited to:
• Notereading (ability to read stenotype)
• A very good command of the English language
• Technical knowledge, which includes having and
knowing how to use the CAT software, knowing
how to transfer files via email and modem, and
general computer knowledge
• Transcript formatting, including knowing what
your requirements are.
• Ability to research unusual spellings and other
information
• Familiarity with legal and technical terminology
(medical, chemical, investments, science, etc.)
• Flexibility and willingness to work to a reporter's
specifications.
The scopist will read the job word for word and make any
corrections of untranslated steno, add punctuation where
necessary, fix formatting and send back as near a final
transcript as possible. The reporter, having been at the
proceedings, can then do a final proof and make any
punctuation changes.
A scopist should be trained. When you are considering
using a scopist, ask where they learned to scope. There are
online courses that teach scoping, such as BeST Scoping
Techniques, as well as some courses taught in local
colleges. Some scopists are trained by a very patient court
reporter. Be cautious of the scopist who has had no
formalized training of any kind. They may not be
prepared to be an effective work partner.
The scopist cleans up the majority of corrections so the
reporter (or proofreader) can do a final proof and get the
job out.
What A Scopist Is Not
It also helps the reporter-scopist relationship when
the reporter understands things they should not
expect from their scopist. Some scopists may have
a different perspective on what their responsibilities
include, but there is a generally accepted definition
of what scopists do.
A scopist will do everything they can to return a
job as close to perfect as possible, but they don't or shouldn't - claim that when they send a job
back, that it will be ready to print and sign. It will
still need to be proofread.
As good as your scopist may be, it is not wise
for her to be the last set of eyes on the job. Your
scopist is only human and may miss something.
While it might be caught if she read it over again,
the fact remains that if she missed it once, she
might and most likely will miss it again. Take the
extra time to proofread the job when it comes back
or send it to a proofreader and your clients will be
happier with the end product. If you decide not to
use a scopist, do use a proofreader instead of
relying on yourself to spot every little mistake.
When you get the scoped job back, there are probably going
to be places that have been marked for you by the scopist to
review where she might need help to decipher the steno.
Don't be afraid of someone else seeing your notes. Scopists
don't need perfect notes, just readable notes. They
understand everyone can have a bad day, particularly if you
were tired or rushed or in an environment where you
couldn't hear clearly.
Perhaps the scopist couldn't hear the audio. The witness
might have mumbled or had an accent, the attorney might
have been talking about 400 words per minute, there might
have been background noise in the room, or any number of
other reasons why the scopist would want the reporter to
check the audio again.
Maybe she couldn't find or verify a spelling. As hard as
your scopist may try to find a spelling, sometimes it just
eludes them. There could be proper names that are not
spelled on the record or just technical or unusual terms that
they are unable to verify. These will be marked for your
attention.
Or maybe she simply wants you to check a place in the
transcript to be sure she correctly understood what was
going on. Remember, they weren't there and they won't
have the ability you do of recalling the job. Perhaps it's not
clear where (or even if) certain exhibits were marked, or
sometimes it's unclear who is speaking. These kind of
questions will be flagged for your attention after your
scopist has given it their best shot.
We personally always flag anytime we use [sic] in a job, for
instance, especially if it's the attorney that hired you,
because you may not want their mistake so clearly spelled
out in the transcript. You may decide you just want to fix it
if it doesn't impact the testimony.
Scopists are not mind readers. Give them any detail about
the job or about the witness that will help them do a good
job for you. If they are scoping a job without audio and the
witness was a foreigner and spoke very choppy English,
please tell your scopist that so they don't add the little odds
and ends that would change the nature of the testimony
thinking it just got missed in the writing (missing ending s,
missing "the," etc.). It might not change the meaning of the
testimony, but it's likely the attorneys will remember if the
witness was fluent in English or not, so the transcript
should remain accurate.
Your scopist is going to be able
to do a better job if they know
all your punctuation and
format preferences. It's very
helpful to get a finished
transcript along with the first
job so they can begin to get
familiar with your preferences.
We'll talk about preference
sheets in a minute.
Scopists are not creative
writers. If you drop some
testimony, please don't expect
your scopist just to make up
something to make things
make sense. Yes, there are
reporters who ask us to do
that.
Scopists do not call the witness
or the attorneys to ask for
spellings. Scopists do, however,
go to pretty extreme lengths to
find tricky or difficult spellings.
A scopist's task is not to retype
the whole job. If the job grows
by pages and pages due to
typing in drops, or if it translates
but translates incorrectly,
requiring heavy retyping, this
really goes beyond scoping and
they will probably visit with you
about a hazardous-duty rate.
Why Use A Scopist?
There are many benefits of using a scopist. If you
are a busy court reporter, you are probably putting
much of your life on hold in order to get your
transcripts edited and turned in on time. By using
a scopist, not only will you get your life back, but it
will enable you to make more money. Your scopist
can be editing the job you took yesterday while
you’re taking new jobs today.
Cost Benefit Analysis
DAY ONE:
Reporter A (with scopist)
$ 75 Appearance Fee
$600 - 200 pgs. @ $3/pg.
---------------------------$675
<$170> ($.85/pg. to scopist)
---------------------------$505
Reporter B (without scopist)
$ 75 Appearance Fee
$600 - 200 pgs. @ $3/pg.
---------------------------$675
$ 0
---------------------------$675
DAY TWO:
Reporter A (with scopist)
$ 75 Appearance Fee
$600 - 200 pgs. @ $3/pg.
---------------------------$675
<$170> ($.85/pg. to scopist)
---------------------------$505
Reporter B (without scopist)
$ 0 Scoping own work
Off calendar
---------------------------$ 0
$ 0
---------------------------$ 0
GROSS INCOME:
$1,010
$ 675
Basically what the analysis shows is that over the
course of two days, two reporters taking the same
volume of work at the same page rate, one using a
scopist and being able to take jobs both days, the
other editing her job from Day 1 the next day, the
reporter who uses a scopist makes considerably
more money hiring a scopist! And the amounts
paid to a scopist (or proofreader) are tax
deductible.
A scopist can be your partner on jobs. We’ve all
heard the saying "Two heads are better than one."
Your scopist will not only be that extra set of eyes
that can catch something you might have missed,
but she will also be a valuable research partner. As
we said, a professional scopist will track down
those difficult medical and technical words and
find elusive spellings. This will save you tons of
time. By turning the editing details over to your
scopist, this will leave room for you to concentrate
on other things.
And if you’re not doing realtime hookup, you can
always use your scopist as a venting partner. I know
that many times my reporters will write me notes
right in the job to spout off about a particular
witness or attorney that’s driving them nuts. It’s a
great way for the reporter to let off a little steam and
a welcome break from the job for the scopist too!
Another benefit of using a scopist is that your "silent
partner" is a tax write-off! At the end of the year, send
your scopist a 1099 and take the deduction on your
income taxes. (At this time a 1099 is only required if
you pay them a certain dollar amount.) Check with
your accountant for further details on this.
Another important
reason to use a scopist
is to take some of the
wear and tear off your
aching wrists and
hands. You can extend
your career by not
having to do all your
own editing.
Finding a Qualified Scopist
When you want to work with a scopist, how do you
find someone that will do a good job for you?
Years ago, finding a scopist was often a difficult
task. Today, with the Internet being as userfriendly as it is, finding the scopist to meet your
needs is easier than ever.
Finding A Scopist
Some places to find a scopist
* Internet – Websites and
CAT vendors
* NCRA
* Word of mouth
One of the easiest ways to find a scopist is to go to
our web site ReporterSupport.com. This is a FREE
service we have created for busy court reporters to
find an available scopist fast. Your firm can sign up
for a free customized link, or an individual reporter
can submit a request for a scopist. With the click
of a button, an easy-to-use form can be filled out
requesting a scopist to meet your specific needs.
This request is then sent out to our large network of
scopists immediately and those who are available
and qualified will respond directly to you.
Getting Off On The Right Foot
Don't wait for an emergency to look for a scopist. Getting
accustomed to working together can take several jobs, and it's
much better to go through this period of getting to know each
other when there's a little more time than a rush job allows.
Also, the first few jobs you give to your new scopist shouldn't
be a 300-page video. Make sure they can perform to your
expectations and start them out with small- to medium-sized
jobs.
Communication is vital in the scopist-reporter relationship.
The reporter and scopist must discuss what is expected from
each other at the very beginning of the working relationship.
There should be no surprises! You, as the reporter, need to let
your scopist know what you need her to do. Don’t be afraid
to tell her how you want things done.
All reporters are different and preferences on
punctuation and format vary from one reporter to
the next. You will want to let your scopist know at
the very beginning any special preferences you
have. A great way to do this is by filling out a
Reporter’s Preference Sheet. A professional
scopist will usually send one to her reporter. You
should also send a completed job that would
demonstrate your page format and punctuation
preferences.
You and your scopist need to discuss such
things as turnaround time and prices. Do
their "days" include weekends? Do they
charge extra for working weekends or doing
expert testimony?
Rates will obviously vary with turnaround
time, difficulty of the job, extra services
needed, etc. Discuss this BEFORE you send
your scopist that first job and that will save
problems further down the road.
After a few jobs, your scopist will begin to pick up
on your writing style and preferences and each job
should reflect that new knowledge. You will both
be able to relax a bit and you will begin working as
a team…the ultimate relationship!
Keeping It Flowing Smoothly
Discuss Details
During your first conversation
with your new scopist, let her
know some general details about
the job you want to send.
Explain the nature of the
testimony (medical, asbestos, car
wreck, etc.) and how long the job
is. Let her know if you will be
providing tapes or an audiosync
file, and if the job was videotaped.
Let your scopist know when you want the job back. Give
her a date rather than saying "as soon as you can." This
will help the scopist fit your work into her schedule and
will help her meet your deadline.
Depending on how quickly you need the job returned can
impact the rate the scopist will charge. Just as reporters
charge attorneys extra for expedited jobs, scopists also
have a rate for rush (usually an additional 50%) and for
daily (usually double).
Keeping your scopist aware of your tentative schedule is
a great way to ensure she will be available when you
need her. For instance, say on Monday you know
you’re going to take a job on Wednesday. You get a
heads-up that this job will go all day and possibly into
Thursday, and the attorneys on the case are notorious
for wanting expedited copy. If you just assume your
scopist will be able to take the job, she might have
accepted other work and you might end up staying up
around the clock editing the work yourself. Had you let
her know on Monday that this job might be coming her
way, she could have taken that into account when
making her schedule for the week.
In that same vein, if you tell your scopist a job is
on the way and it cancels, please be sure to let your
scopist know as soon as possible. If you fall into
the habit of not keeping your scopist in the loop of
your schedule changes, she will be less likely to be
available for your upcoming jobs
Please get work to your scopist as soon as possible
after you've taken it so that she can get started on it
right away and avoid a rush situation that isn't
getting paid at rush rates.
It’s All About Teamwork
The scopist-reporter relationship is based on
teamwork. When you first begin working with a
scopist, it is helpful to give constructive feedback
on jobs. If there is something you would like done
another way, tell your scopist. She will be happy to
change things to meet your specifications if you
approach her with something like, Would you do
this instead of that: or I like it this way better than
that way.
Scopists aim to please, so a little feedback will go a
long way. There may be cases where the chemistry
between a reporter and a particular scopist isn't just
right, but if that's the case, just go ahead and look
for a different scopist.
Your scopist can also assist you in building your
dictionary. Ask your scopist to send you any dictionary
entries she was able to make. You obviously will have
the final word on whether the entry is added to your
main dictionary or not.
A very important factor not to be overlooked is paying
invoices. If you want your scopist to always be there for
you morning, noon and night, respect her by paying all
invoices on time. When you first hire your scopist,
discuss the payment arrangements in that first
conversation and come to an agreement as to when
invoices will be paid. If you don’t get paid until your
firm gets paid, please don’t expect your scopist to wait
that long. Most scopists will be flexible with payment,
but payment shouldn't go beyond 30 days.
Keeping Up With Technology
If you are an official or doing a series of
connected depositions, the attorneys might
ask for each day's transcript to be ready for
them the next day. Having a scopist assist on
this can be a tremendous help! An effective
way to get this done would be to email the
job to the scopist in sections at each break so
that while you are taking the next segment,
they can be editing the earlier part. For
instance, you start the day at 9:00 and take a
break at 10:30. Do a quick translation of the
first hour and a half's proceedings and email
it to your scopist. Do the same at the lunch
break and the afternoon break. This way,
both of you can survive a somewhat
extended period of this!
Or, with realtime scoping, this would provide an even
more instantaneously scoped transcript than the daily
method I just described. You could have your scopist
actually on-site with you and hooked up to your
realtime and she can be scoping the feed as it hits her
computer. It would be possible to wrap up a day's
transcript within a few hours of it actually ending!
Remote realtime scoping is a reality when your scopist
actually gains access to your hard drive via the Internet
and she can scope the realtime feed. This is not
something to try with a scopist you've never worked
with before.
It Was A Pleasure…
We hope this presentation has been helpful to you and
given you the encouragement to try working with a
scopist if you haven't already, or some ideas for
improving your current working relationship with
someone.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to
contact us.
Judy Rakocinski & Cathy Watson are fulltime scopists and owners of BeST Scoping
Techniques scopist training program. They
may be reached at
http://www.BestScopingTechniques.com
For help in finding a scopist, please go to:
http://www.ReporterSupport.com
No part of this presentation may be copied without written permission.
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