From Months to Days: How Amberscript Helps University of Barcelona Transcribe Sensitive Interviews

The University of Barcelona, with its 5,715 academic staff based in Catalonia, Spain, took on a significant research project funded by the State Research Agency. Their mission was to investigate emerging security challenges facing Spain and Europe, from pandemics and financial crises to cyber-attacks and foreign investment in strategic sectors. The research aimed to rethink the role of armed forces in addressing these evolving threats.

Challenge: analyzing large volumes of sensitive data

The research team from the University of Barcelona started an ambitious project involving more than 50 hours of interviews with political, financial, and military elites. However, they quickly discovered a bottleneck in their process – there were too many interviews to analyze. They had to be distributed among different researchers, and traditional word detection software like Atlas.ti wasn’t helpful to do an accurate analysis. It could take up to six months to complete, severely slowing down their research progress. 

At the same time, the quality of the data had to be perfect. As the Delphi method is highly complex, requiring iterative rounds of analysis and expert feedback, any errors in transcription or misinterpretation of responses could distort the research findings. 

Another challenge was to meet all the data protection and ethics commission standards. The interviews were of a sensitive nature, and there could be no possibility of data breaches or leaks. This required not only secure storage solutions but also strict access control measures and anonymization where necessary.

Solution: secure and fast transcription service

The University found their perfect fit with Amberscript’s manual transcription services. This solution brought together a transcription software, that could quickly transcribe all interviews, with a team of expert language specialists who understood technical jargon and specific vocabulary. To make the transcripts even more accurate, Amberscript also did quality checks.

Another important part was data security. Amberscript checked all the boxes there. The service was fully GDPR-compliant, and the software offered all the needed security features: data was stored exclusively on secure European servers, and built-in anonymization tools protected sensitive information. With ISO 27001 certification and strict data protection measures, including NDAs and DPAs signed by all language professionals, Amberscript guaranteed the data security.

Results: from months to just 4 days 

What previously took months could now be completed in days. Amberscript delivered 50 hours of interview transcriptions within just 4 business days.

The quality was impressive too. 99% accuracy meant researchers could trust every word on the page.  This meant the research team could start analyzing the interviews right away. For a project focused on understanding emerging challenges to Spain’s security, this timing made all the difference.

Conclusion: faster research and more focus, while keeping the data safe

Thanks to Amberscript, what started as a daunting challenge of processing 50+ hours of expert interviews turned into a smooth research process. The University of Barcelona’s experience showed that even the most complex research projects can be finished fast with the right tools. By solving their transcription bottleneck, they could focus on their real goal: helping Spain and Europe prepare for future security challenges.

Are you also a university looking for a transcription solution that helps your researchers focus on the actual research part instead of repetitive tasks? Get in touch with Amberscript to see how we can help!