Fees for Research-Related Services
This post provides an idea of the costs involved with research-related services you may avail during your research grant. Services covered include translation, transcription, and research assistants.
Translation Services
About half of all Fulbright researchers used translation services (48.7%), while those who did use translation services were most likely to use them in person (85%). The remaining 15% of researchers used paper-based translation services. 63% of respondents using a translator said that their translation activities took place in the field, while the remaining respondents were about evenly split between translation activities taking place in a local community or in an office setting.
Finding a Translator
Of those researchers who used a translator, 58% said that they identified their translator through a personal connection. The second-most common way of finding a translator was through the researcher’s host institution, with 32% of respondents reporting that this is how they got connected to their translator.
Cost of Translation Services
The cost of translation services varies depending on the location and nature of the work. Translators also charge in a variety of units ranging from hourly fees for shorter field visits to weekly rates for longer-term field work. The chart below outlines the general fees that respondents paid for translation services, divided by location type.
Transcription Services
Out of 39 respondents, 6 used transcription services for their research. Of these respondents, 50% (4) identified their transcriber through a personal connection while the second-most common way of identifying a transcriber was through their affiliate institution (2).
Cost of Transcription Services
Only urban respondents provided information regarding the cost of transcription services. The following rates were reported by urban researchers:
- INR 375 to 1,000/hour
- INR 2,000/survey
Research Assistant Services
Out of 33 respondents, 27.3% (9) arranged for a research assistant to support their work.
Research assistants performed a variety of tasks than can be broadly grouped into the following categories:
- Data collection, entry, and analysis
- Conducting interviews and participant observation
- Collecting field samples, documents at archives
- Identifying community members to speak with
- Providing feedback on research
- Photography
- Note-taking/documentation
Finding a Research Assistant
Of the researchers who hired a research assistant, 44% identified their research assistant through their affiliate institution. The remainder either identified a research assistant through a personal connection (33%) or through a local academic institution (11%).
Cost of Research Assistant Services
Other Research-Related Services
Depending on the nature of the research, Fulbright researchers utilized their research budget for a number of other purposes, mentioned below:
- Photocopies of surveys, consent forms, etc.
- Books/literature
- Workshops
- Language classes (beyond classes provided through the Fulbright Critical Language Enhancement Award)
- Microbiology supplies
- Data analysis software
- Travel to and from research sites
- IRB fees
- Museum entry fees
- Audio recording device
- Facilitation services by local institutions
- Photo permission at archives
- Lab samples
- Subscription to transcription app
