Smarter Week

How to automate it

How to automate “tag transcripts and synthesise research findings”

Here are 2 ways to spend less time on this, best first. Each comes with steps you can follow today and, for AI fixes, a prompt to copy.

240 min
typically, once a week
60%
of the time can be automated
Easy
to set up

Fix 1 of 2

Software featureBest fix

Synthesise research in a repository with built-in AI (Dovetail, Condens, Marvin)

Research repositories transcribe sessions, suggest tags and highlights, and cluster findings across studies, so synthesis takes hours instead of days and findings stay searchable.

Typically saves about 45% of the time2 h to set up
  1. 1Upload or connect recordings from Zoom, Teams or Meet to Dovetail, Condens, Marvin or your repository.
  2. 2Let the AI transcribe and suggest highlights and tags; correct the tags that matter.
  3. 3Use the AI clustering to draft themes, then check them against the raw clips.
  4. 4Publish insights in the repository so stakeholders can search before asking you.

Tools: Dovetail · Condens · Marvin · Great Question

Fix 2 of 2

AI

Use AI to make the first pass at synthesis, then verify against the transcripts

An approved AI assistant can pull themes, quotes and contradictions from a set of transcripts. You check the evidence and add the interpretation.

Typically saves about 45% of the time10 min to set up
  1. 1Remove personal data from the transcripts if your policy needs it.
  2. 2Upload them with your research questions using the prompt below.
  3. 3Check each theme against the quotes it cites.
  4. 4Write the "so what" yourself.
Prompt to copy
Here are [NUMBER] interview transcripts for a study on [TOPIC]. Our research questions were: [LIST]. For each research question give: the main findings, how many participants support each one, two verbatim quotes with participant IDs, and any contradicting evidence. Then list surprising findings we did not ask about. Only use what is in the transcripts.

[ATTACH TRANSCRIPTS]

Tools: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Microsoft Copilot

Quick wins

Have you tried…

Have you used a research tool like Dovetail or Condens to auto-tag and cluster interview findings?
These tools transcribe sessions, suggest highlights and tags, and group findings across interviews. You check and interpret instead of tagging every line by hand.

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Roles in our library that list this as one of their common tasks. Each guide covers the rest of that role’s week.

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Other common tasks for UX researchers