On the surface, speech data collection sounds like it should be simple. After all, we all can record our voices with our phones at any time. However, a professional speech data collection project is about far more than just recording voices. Instead, we need a representative selection of speech data—including varied accents, tones, dialects, speech patterns, and conversations—that are part of our everyday lives.  Speech data is a form of Ground Truth Data, a field in which we at Q Analysts have deep expertise. Natural speech input is a vital component of many software products built using artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP).

What is Speech Data Collection?

Speaking is a foundational way we understand and communicate our experiences. Speech data collection captures a range of linguistics data to inform speech-driven ML programs that are used in NLP. It’s essential to have the right sensitivity, accuracy, and contextual understanding of the nuances of language to prevent misinterpretation of core speech data in ML programs.

Why Is Speech Data Collection Important for Natural Language Processing?

NLP is the area of software development concerned with regular written and spoken language. Through NLP, programs can easily understand any statement and create a natural interaction with an AI program.  For NLP to be successful, computers must learn and understand human language the same way we do. As a result, accuracy and contextual understanding are essential in reducing incorrect responses to user queries, improving response times, and enhancing the overall user experience.

What Are the Key Challenges of Speech Data Collection?

While capturing speech data seems straightforward on the surface, the process is very complex. Every speech data collection project must address three essential challenges.

• Collecting the right amount of data. It is impossible to collect speech data from the more than seven billion people worldwide. However, each project needs enough data to capture variations of human speech and to ensure the AI and ML algorithms work correctly. That means projects need to focus on collecting the right mix of speech nuances to achieve desired results.
• Planning for effective data collection. To gather the proper amount of data, speech collection projects can involve thousands of participants with specific tones, speech cadences, regional dialects, and other parameters. Sourcing those participants requires careful planning to maximize efficiency and avoid unnecessary expenditure of time and money.
• Using the best project approach. Each speech data collection project is unique, so there is no one-size-fits-all way to capture data. It is critical to define goals upfront and anticipate how AI algorithms will be deployed and used to devise the best way forward.

How Does Q Analysts Approach Speech Data Collection?

As trusted leaders in Ground Truth Data collection, Q Analysts has developed a robust and repeatable approach to speech data collection. Our practices ensure each unique project has clear goals and proven strategies to collect the right speech data to meet client requirements.

• Collaboration. We perform a complete evaluation to collect the linguistics data necessary to formulate client requirements. Using that insight, we determine the number of participants and recommend strategies to gather best-fit speech data.
• Knowledge. We have deep experience gained through hundreds of data collection projects, along with up-to-date knowledge of current best practices. This expertise allows us to deliver high-quality speech data that does not require additional verification.
• Data Privacy & Security.We maintain awareness of best practices for handling sensitive participant data. We are an ISO 27001-certified organization (for data security and privacy), and our strict protocols ensure complete data security and mitigate risks of data compromise.
• Design and Refine. Our linguistics experts have vast experience in data capture of speech nuances and behaviors. We can customize each client project to design the right approach from the ground up and collect data at scale.
• Logistics and Execution. Collecting speech data is innately complex and requires specialized expertise. We devise a complete strategy, including consideration of all speech patterns, demographic requirements, collection locations, and other factors to meet each client’s specific needs.

Achieving High-Quality Speech Data Collection

Today, the adoption of speech-driven applications is widespread through home automation solutions, chatbots, voice assistants, and other technologies. As demands for these products increase, companies need accurate Ground Truth Data and proven speech data collection best practices.The difference between capturing data and capturing high-quality data can make or break product performance in the real world. Clear goals, careful planning, and expert guidance are necessary to create a speech data collection program that achieves top-tier results.