Alterations Transcribers face a frequent need or temptation to insert detail not in the document itself. Some words are illegible, and we feel we must offer alternate readings. Other points need clarifying to make a document intelligible. Fine if one basic rule is followed. We can add whatever we feel is absolutely necessary so long as we place our offering in square brackets.
Original writers use parentheses.
If we, as transcribers, place parentheses around our additions, then readers have no way to discern whether this parenthetical data appears within the original or whether it represents our additives while transcribing. As with all other aspects of research, the material we transcribe must be documented so thoroughly that our readers can easily locate the original. If documentation is lacking on the record we are using, then we must offer a viable explanation of the document s provenance. Six small matters. Six nitpicking points to remember.