Does certification exist for scopists, proofreaders, and transcriptionists?

Hello Again!

Is there a certification process for scopists, proofreaders, and transcriptionists?  To answer that question, let's take a look at the certifications currently available in the court reporting profession.  At this time, there are three national associations offering recognized certifications, outlined as follows:

NCRA

(National Court Reporters Association)

• NCRA is a national association headquartered in Reston, Virginia, that certifies Stenographic Reporters, offering different certifications for court reporters, along with videographers, instructors, etc.
• Scopists, proofreaders, and transcriptionists are allowed associate membership but no certifications exist for them.
• www.ncra.org

NVRA

(National Verbatim Reporters Association)

• NVRA is a national association headquartered in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, that certifies Voice Reporters, offering different certifications for court reporters.
• Scopists, proofreaders, and transcriptionists are allowed associate membership but no certifications exist for them.
• www.nvra.org

AAERT

(American Association of Electronic Reporters and Transcribers)

• AAERT is a national association headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, that certifies Electronic Reporters and Transcribers, offering certification for each category.
• Proofreaders and scopists are allowed membership but no certifications exist for them.
• www.aaert.org

Licensure Boards

• In addition to the three national associations, about half of the states have a regulatory or licensure board that awards a CSR (also called CCR) certification to Court Reporters.
• That CSR or CCR certification is the reporter's actual license to report proceedings venued in a regulated state.
• No state boards regulate nor issue certifications/licenses to scopists, transcriptionists, or proofreaders.

RECAP

• Court reporters have many different certifications for which they can apply and test.
• Transcriptionists have one certification through AAERT for which they can apply and test.
• Scopists have none.
• Proofreaders have none.

Holding a "Certificate of Completion" showing a person's satisfactory completion of some type of online instruction is not a certification.  All nationally recognized certifications carry with them letters to be used behind a person's name, showing their earned credentials.

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Until next time ...

Dropbox Tips

Hello Again!

Since Dropbox is a popular cloud storage, here are a few tips that may be helpful.

Faster downloads and uploads

• Click to open the Dropbox icon in system tray at bottom of computer screen.
• In top right corner, click the little gear.
• Click Preferences.
• Click Bandwidth.
• Select "Don't Limit" on Download Rate.
• Select "Don't Limit" on Upload Rate.
• Check mark Enable LAN Sync.
• Click Apply.
• Click OK.

More free space

• Click to open the Dropbox icon in system tray at bottom of computer screen.
• At bottom left, click the globe to go to Dropbox.com.
• At top right, click the down arrow beside your name to open settings.
• Click "Account."
• Click "Invite a Friend" and invite people you know (they don't have to actually use DB, just accept your invite).
• If you have multiple e-mail accounts, send an invite to each of your own e-mail accounts, too.  Then log into each of them and accept the invite.
• Also periodically delete files no longer needed to free up some storage space.

Multiple Dropboxes

You can create one Dropbox for each of your e-mail addresses, organize your stored items in different Dropboxes so that you are spreading the space around among different Dropbox accounts if you don't want to upgrade to a paid account.

You may want to use separate Dropboxes for:

• Personal storage (bank statements, recipes, photographs, etc.)
• Audio or music.
• Dailies to be scoped or proofed.
• Other (archived testimony, shared folders for scoping, proofing, etc.)

Keep it Organized

• Create new folders.
• Create subfolders within those folders.
• Move things around between folders or different Dropbox accounts so that you can easily find things.
• Think of the folders as paper manila folders; the subfolders as dividers between the manila folders; the files as separate pieces of paper filed inside the manila folders. 
• Periodically delete files no longer needed.

SHARED FOLDERS

Regular Scoping

Folder named Sue & Jane - (Sue reporter; Jane scopist.)

1. Either reporter or scopist creates a folder, sends a link from Dropbox inviting the other person to join the shared folder.  The other person clicks "Join" so that they are both inside the shared folder.
2. Be sure to uncheck that nobody else can have access to that folder so that it remains private.
3. Create two subfolders called To Be Scoped and Scoped.
4. Reporter uploads into To Be Scoped folder.
5. Scopist downloads, scopes, renames file with "Scoped" on end of file, uploads into Scoped folder.
6. Notification must be made to the other party since Dropbox does not automatically notify.
7. Scopist can also create a folder called Invoices, with subfolders called Owed and Paid, if desired, to help organize invoices.

Dailies

Folder named Sue, Jane, Kim - (Sue reporter; Jane and Kim scopists.)

1. Either reporter or one of the scopists creates a folder, sends a link from Dropbox inviting the other two people to join the shared folder.  They both click "Join" so that all three are in the shared folder.
2. Be sure to uncheck that nobody else can have access to that folder so that it remains private.
3. Create two subfolders called To Be Scoped, Scoped.

CaseCat

• Reporter outputs realtime into To Be Scoped folder.
• Scopists download their designated numbered sections, scope, and upload their sections into Scoped folder.
• Reporter (or scopist) chains all numbered sections back together.

Proofreaders

Following the above process, one or more proofers can be added to any shared folder, with two new subfolders:

1. To Be Proofed - where scopist or reporter would upload files to be proofed.
2. Proofed - where proofer would upload proofed files.

Until next time ...

Should a reporter test scopists before hiring?

Hello Again!

The question often arises of how a reporter can find their best match for a scopist.  Should they require references from other reporters?  What if the scopist only scoped for one reporter for 30 years and that reporter is now deceased?  What if they are fairly new and could be really good but just don't have any references yet?  I think an alternate way for a reporter to make a hiring decision is to administer a short test.

SHORT TEST:  Offer new applicants a short test without giving them much instruction to see what they can do on their own and if they could be a good match.

10-PAGE SECTION:  One idea is for the reporter to break off a 10-page section of testimony from a prior job, making sure the section has some mistakes in it.  Suggestions include having some steno that needs to be replaced or defined as a global, wrong words, something heard on the audio but not in the notes (drops), missing bylines and punctuation, an exhibit blurb that needs to be added, etc.

CREATE TEST:  Don't have anything to use for the test?  Create it by writing a 10-page test.  Listen to some old audio and restroke the ten pages, making sure to create some errors.

ADD TEST TO DROPBOX:  Once the test is ready, the reporter could drop it as a zipped file into their Dropbox folder.  This will be the same test given to all applicants by sending a link from Dropbox to their e-mail.  If reporter does not use Dropbox, an alternate cloud storage could be used, such as SendThisFile or other similar online sites.

ADVERTISE:  Advertise for a scopist, giving a few details such as the CAT program used, must be scoped to full audio, following Morson (or Wells, etc.), and there will be a short 10-page test given to applicants.  So that the reporter can remember WHERE they found the scopist applicants, only advertise in ONE place at a time (so important).  A perfect place to advertise is on my Facebook Job Board where hundreds of experienced scopists are available.

 https://www.facebook.com/groups/520512311347167/

MOVE ON:  If not satisfied with replies from scopists on my Job Board, move to another online site and repeat the process, keeping good notes along the way.

BAD ATTITUDES:  A few scopists might roll their eyes and even have an attitude about wasting their valuable time scoping ten pages for free.  That's fine.  Scopists with bad attitudes are not what the reporter wants to add to their team anyway.

GOOD ATTITUDES:  However, there are many experienced scopists who don't mind being tested and realize that, yes, they have competition from other scopists also needing work and also wanting to find that golden relationship with a great reporter.  Those scopists will happily scope ten pages for no charge so that the reporter can see their work and abilities before making a commitment.

SEND LINK TO TEST:  As responses arrive from the scopists applying, the reporter should verify that they have the applicant's e-mail address, and then send a thank-you reply saying something like, "I will be sending you a Dropbox link to the test shortly.  Please return the scoped file (without audio) to me at xxx@xxxxx.com at your earliest convenience."

ANALYZE SCOPING:  As each scoped file is returned, the reporter should restore and carefully look through all ten pages, observing, making notes to themselves as to how well the file was scoped, if the scopist followed directions, knew how to make globals, used correct punctuation, etc.

KEEP NOTES:  It's a good idea to add these personal notes to some sort of spreadsheet, computer file, or even handwritten in a notebook for later referral.

PREFERENCES:  The reporter should always remember that there are many "preferences" hanging around in the transcript world, and that scopists are not mind readers; but just for the test, the idea is to verify that the scopist has the basics down pat and understands how to break or join sentences properly, paragraph where needed and so forth.  Individual nuances or personal preferences can be addressed after a scopist is hired and the reporter's preference sheet is sent.  At this point in the process, the basics and a little bit of the art of scoping is what the reporter is checking.

DISCUSS RATES WITH BEST TWO:  Once the candidates are narrowed down to two, the page rates should be discussed between reporter and scopist.  Sometimes the better scopists charge a higher rate than others; sometimes not.

IF RATES ARE TOO HIGH:  Ideally, the reporter should NOT narrow the field of potential scopists based solely on money or that one person charges a dime or a quarter per page more than another. Instead, the final decision should be based on QUALITY of the scopist's work.  However, if the dime or quarter per page is simply not affordable for the reporter based on their own rates received, then, unfortunately, the reporter must consider other scopists with lower rates or try to negotiate a lower rate, perhaps based on promised quantity of work.  If a scopist agrees to a lower rate based on a promise of lots of work to pay their personal expenses, that promise should always be kept.

PAYMENT TERMS:  Payment terms (whatever works between the parties) should always be discussed and agreed to in writing between reporter and scopist before work commencement.   Some reporters pay on invoice receipt; some pay twice a month; some pay randomly; some pay after they have been paid by their client.  Method of payment (paper check mailed, bank transfer, Paypal, etc.) should also be discussed and agreed to by the parties before any work is commenced.

W-9:  The hired scopist should also fill out and provide the reporter with a W-9 before any payment is sent; a new W-9 provided if the scopist moves or has a new mailing address during the year.  The W-9 will be used by the reporter for sending a 1099 to each scopist paid $599 or more per calendar year.

RELIABILITY:  Reliability of a scopist is equally important to their skills and page rates, and the dependability factor and the effect on a reporter will be discussed in another blog.

TIME SAVED:  The ideas that the reporter should keep in mind at all times is:  How much time is my scopist going to save me?  How much more new work can I take by utilizing the services of a fabulous scopist?  Can I get some much-needed sleep while my scopist is editing my file?

POLITE REJECTION:  For those applicants who did not make the cut, the reporter should always send a note so that they are not left hanging.  It can be as simple as, "Thank you very much for your time responding to my ad and taking the test.  Another scopist has been selected, but I will keep your information on file."

BOTTOM LINE:

• Should a reporter seeking a long-term scopist relationship test applicants?  Yes.

• Should a reporter seeking a short-term scopist relationship test applicants?  A very good idea if time permits.  Just know that grabbing the first scopist available is a risky move that sometimes works out and sometimes does not.

Until next time ...

What punctuation guides should a scopist follow?

Hello again!

Is there a universal industry-standard guideline that scopists should follow?  Unfortunately, not.

There are actually several, and the scopist should have this question on a preference sheet before beginning work with a new-to-them reporter:  Which authority do you use?

To add to the confusion, there are also some reporters who use a combination of rules from various authorities and a few who don't really follow any rules at all and just go with what they think looks best.  The idea, of course, is for consistency throughout all transcripts for each reporter, and so this ties back to the preference sheet which will be discussed in more detail in another blog.

Which authority a reporter uses is generally dependent on what they were taught in court reporting school.  Having been tested repeatedly on the rules, most of them are eventually memorized, etched deeply into the reporters' brains, and they may find it difficult to unlearn what they were taught or relearn new rules.  For this reason, a scopist working for multiple reporters must be very flexible and have the ability to switch between the rule books as they scope for different reporters.

Some of the rules "match" between the authorities, while some may be totally different, depending upon which authority a reporter uses.  So a diligent scopist really should have a small library of reference books, kept handy and used often, especially if they scope for various reporters using different rules or styles.

If you are a reporter, former reporter, or a scopist who learned a certain set of rules, you may find it much easier to scope for a reporter who uses the same guidelines that you learned; in other words, if you are a "Morson person all the way," you will likely find the scoping will go much faster if you pair with a Morson reporter.  The reporter paying for the scoping services decides how they want sentences punctuated and formatting done for their colloquy, bylines, Q/A testimony, and so forth, so all the more reason to scope for a reporter who follows similar guidelines as you, the scopist.

Generally speaking, the main four authorities used are Morson, Wells, Gregg, and Chicago.  For spellings, a scopist should consult a dictionary, and the one most often used is Merriam-Webster, found online for no charge.

MORSON - This is a manual (sometimes called LMEG) written by court reporting instructor Lillian I. Morson, introduced in 1974 as An English Guide for Court Reporters. The manual was revised in 1988 as Morson's English Guide for Court Reporters, First Edition, and revised again in 1997, Second Edition.  There have been several reprints of each version, but the current one in use is the 1997 version.  Morson is still taught in many reporting schools, and the latest version looks like this:

WELLS - This is a manual written by court reporting instructor Margaret L. Wakeman Wells in 2010 and is currently taught in some reporting schools.  Generally speaking, some reporters entering school from 2010 forward may be taught from the Wells book, which she calls "The Reference Text," and it does differ in several respects from Morson.  Ms. Wells also sells a companion workbook to her manual, along with some other reference books.  Her one and only manual looks like this:

GREGG - This is a manual written by William A. Sabin, an author of many articles about style, usage, and grammar.  The book was first published in 1951 as the Reference Manual for Stenographers and Typists by Ruth E. Gavin.  The manual has undergone numerous revisions and reprints, but the most current version is called the "Tribute Edition" and was published in 2010. While the older 10th edition appears to be available as an online subscription, I do not believe the latest 11th (Tribute Edition) is online as of January 2016.  The latest book looks like this:

                   
CHICAGO - The Chicago Manual of Style (sometimes called CMOS) has several authors and was first published in 1906.  The latest edition is 16, which can be purchased as a book or as an online subscription.  The most current book looks like this:

These reference books can be found for sale online or at many bookstores.  In addition, there are some Facebook groups that discuss the rules and awkward sentence constructions found in testimony.  For Morson followers, you may want to join my Facebook group found at this link:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/549098825259263/

Until next time ...

What is the "art" of scoping?

Hello again!

So what is the "art" of scoping?  Well, the basics are to clean up any gibberish, which might be untranslated or mistranslated steno, manually type in words heard on audio but absent from the transcript, add missing punctuation, and so forth.  After mastering the basics, the scopist should strive to make the written transcript not only reflective of what was spoken but in a manner that conveys how something was said so that you, the reader, then "gets" what the person was saying.  An example might be something like this:

A.  Well, yes, I went down there to my mom's house that day.  And I saw a red car parked in the driveway.  But I wasn't really paying much attention at the time.  I was just there to see how my grandfather was getting along, since he's old now and on a lot of meds and all.  And so my focus was not really on what was in the driveway.  Or, for that matter, what was even parked on the street either.  I was just there for a few minutes really, talking with my mom and my grandfather.

Well, one scopist might think that looks just fine and dandy as is.  All the correct words are there to match with the audio, and they might think the punctuation looks good.  Another scopist might take issue with some of the punctuation but still not employ the art of scoping.

So could that answer be tweaked to still have the same words but be easier for the reader to understand what the witness was saying?  Yes.  That's where the "art" comes into play.  It could be changed to something like this:

A.  Well, yes, I went down there to my mom's house that day, and I saw a red car parked in the driveway.
      But I wasn't really paying much attention at the time -- I was just there to see how my grandfather was getting along since he's old now and on a lot of meds and all -- and so my focus was not really on what was in the driveway or, for that matter, what was even parked on the street either.
       I was just there for a few minutes, really, talking with my mom and my grandfather.

See how the middle portion is all one long thought (the person wasn't paying attention and didn't notice what was parked where)?  As the witness was answering, they just sort of threw in the part about being there to check on grandpa, so that's why it should be dashed-off because if you lifted it out of the sentence, it would then read:  "But I wasn't really paying much attention at the time, and so my focus was not really on what was in the driveway or, for that matter, what was even parked on the street either."

Taking a few moments to read back through each person's spoken words and do a little punctuation tweaking so that the testimony flows smoothly is how it's done and why it is called the "art of scoping."

Until next time ...

What in the heck is scoping anyway?

Hello!

Glad you asked!  Scoping is the art of using specialized software, opening a computerized file written by a court reporter of a witness's testimony in a deposition or several witnesses in a courtroom trial, etc., following along usually by listening to the audio accompanying the file, and editing or "cleaning up" the errors.  Obviously, missing punctuation would be added, but all grammar remains intact.  In other words, whatever was spoken is written, grammar mistakes included.

An example might be that a witness actually said, "I ain't got none" instead of "I don't have any." Whatever the witness speaks remains and is not changed.

Scopists follow one or more of the main industry-standard punctuation rule books and/or each court reporter's personal preferences.  Conflicts can arise between the various "authorities" out there, and so a scopist must quickly learn to adapt to the particular reporter for whom they are scoping.  Many scopists purchase and use several different guides as part of their reference materials, and I will discuss in a future blog the main English guidelines that a scopist would follow.

In short, the scopist "edits" a court reporter's transcript.  The finished scoped file should be ready for proofing either by the court reporter, by a professional proofer hired by the reporter, or sometimes by both.

Stay tuned for future blogs regarding software, training, equipment needed, etc., by scopists.

Until next time ...

Finding a scopist?

Hello!

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of scopists available for hire, generally found through the Internet.  But where?

For several years, there were a few online sites offering the services of a scopist, places such as scopists.com or CSR Nation or Depoman (now defunct).  With the popularity of Facebook, I looked around at the various court reporting groups to see where I might find scopists either to hire myself or if I wanted to scope for other reporters.  I joined several of the seemingly more popular Facebook groups related to court reporting, just as a lurker, so to speak, never posting anything.  I wanted to get a feel for what each group offered, the types of things posted, and the general tone of each group.

Some of these groups were what I call "all-purpose" in that they were a mixture of job ads, people advertising their services, jokes, cartoons, and general conversations.  There were a few groups dedicated to a single purpose, such as the CaseCat or Eclipse users' groups, but even those groups contained posts of a general nature.  I specifically looked around and noticed that two of them had listings under the Files section where a few people had posted their scoping and proofreading services.  Hmm ... I began to look all over Facebook to see if I could find a "Job Board" set up as a bulletin board where people could find one another to hire and be hired for court reporting-related employment.

Finding absolutely nothing, I created one on July 4, 2013.  A dedicated Job Board of this type was something brand new to Facebook, and it quickly became very popular.  At the time, I hosted three other Facebook groups, so I had somewhat of a vision in my mind as to how I wanted my Job Board set up.  Always open to suggestions for working out some of the minor details, numerous people began giving input as to their thoughts and ideas, some right on the Board and some via private messages and e-mails.  Many people were eager to help get our new Job Board up and running in short order, with maximum success!

All suggestions were appreciated, but the recurring theme to list all the workers under Files right on my Job Board fit with my own vision and something I had already seen on two other sites, so I knew this is where I wanted the lists.  Now, the tweaking of those lists and deciding whether to allow reporting or scoping students to list, people who wanted to learn but had no paid experience, people who wanted to mentor others, and so forth, went through a few experimental phases until I made some final decisions on the lists.

But court reporters now have a central location with thousands of members where they can easily find good scopists, proofreaders, and transcriptionists.  In addition, court reporters can find listings of job opportunities for reporting work around the country, as well as businesses who come to my Job Board and hire transcriptionists and others for both short-term and long-term assignments.

If you are interested in joining my Job Board on Facebook, you may request to join by using this link:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/520512311347167/

Until next time ...