Paste a transcript and anchor key moments with timestamps and tags. Free, no sign-up.
What this tool does
Interview evidence is quoted from transcripts, but a bare quote without its place in the recording is hard to verify and easy to misattribute. Anchoring ties each quoted passage to a timestamp and a tag — theme, speaker, claim — so the quote, its moment and its meaning travel together. Paste transcript lines with timestamps, add tags to the lines that matter, and this tool returns an anchored, tagged list you can cite and search.
Why it matters
Good citations do quiet work. They let a reader find every source you used, they show that your argument rests on real evidence rather than memory, and they protect you: a clean reference list is much harder to challenge than a vague one. Most marks lost on referencing are not lost on difficult sources. They are lost on small, repeated slips — a missing year, a swapped initial, a title in the wrong case — that a quick tool pass catches before submission.
How to use it
- Paste transcript lines: [mm:ss] Speaker: text.
- Add tags after a # on lines that matter.
- Copy the anchored, tagged list.
Worked example
‘[04:12] Patel: The filters failed in week two. #methods’ anchors to 04:12, speaker Patel, tag methods. Filtering the output by #methods collects every methods moment in transcript order, with timestamps intact.
Tips for good results
Tag claims, not just topics. A tag like #claim-filters-fail finds evidence; a tag like #water finds everything.
Work from the source itself, not from another paper’s copy of it. And keep one style for the whole list: a single mixed entry undermines an otherwise perfect bibliography.
Honest limits
Anchors are only as accurate as the timestamps you paste; the tool does not listen to audio or check that a timestamp matches the words. Tags are free text, so inconsistent spelling (‘method’ vs ‘methods’) splits one theme into two — pick tag spellings before you start.
Common mistakes to avoid
Common mistakes to avoid: copying a reference from another paper without checking it against the original, trusting a PDF filename for the title or year, and mixing two styles in one list. Each of these looks harmless alone and careless together. Run the tool, read its output once, and compare it with the source itself before you paste it into your document.
Before you submit
Run through this short check before you submit: is every author name spelled as it appears on the source, is every year present and correct, and does every in-text citation have a matching entry in your reference list? Read the list once from top to bottom rather than skimming it. Most referencing errors are found in that single slow read, and fixing them there is far cheaper than fixing them after a reviewer finds them. If one entry still looks odd after that read, check it against the original source before you change anything else.
Frequently asked questions
Is this tool really free?
Yes. It runs in your browser on this page, with no account and no payment. Nothing you paste leaves your computer.
Do I still need to check the result?
Yes, once. Tools apply rules; they cannot verify facts about your source. Compare the output with the source itself before submitting.
Can I use the output in my paper?
Yes. The output is a formatted reference or analysis for your own work. Keep the source’s facts accurate and the formatting consistent across your list.
What if the tool’s output differs from my style guide?
Trust the style guide. Tools encode the common rules of a style; your university or journal’s own sheet wins every disagreement. Use the tool to do the routine work, then apply the local rule where it differs.
Also available in Spanish: Ancla de Transcripción de Entrevista – Anota Momentos de Transcripciones con Marcas de Tiempo Gratis.