Translating and adapting questionnaires and tests
A translation must be fit for purpose.
A translated measurement instrument needs to measure the same construct in a fair and reliable way. A translated report requires correct and consistent terminology, intelligibility and clarity.
A translated marketing document must obtain the expected impact on a given target population.
We examine each project’s needs and requirements—including budget and time frame—and propose the most suitable blend of state-of-the-art technology, experienced translators, and methods that make operational sense.
cApStAn Modular Approach – Our language services are organized in 20 modules that can be combined on the basis of needs, requirements and goals to arrange the best workflow for each project.
Download Our Modular Approach Document
Our translation methods:
Single forward translation + proofreading
What? Legal documents, reports, minutes of meetings
How? Selection of translators with relevant experience; leveraging assets and pre-translation; automated quality assurance; proofreading by a copy editor.
Straightforward and cost-effective
Premium translation: single forward translation + expert review
What? Data collection instruments with tight timelines and budget limitations
How? Translators with relevant experience; leveraging assets and pre-translation; automated quality assurance; expert review by a senior linguist or SME trained in identifying equivalence issues.
Added value of source-target comparison by an expert
Dual forward translation + reconciliation
What? International large-scale assessments (ILSAs) such as PISA
How? Two translations produced independently; reconciliation (merging) by a senior translator with domain expertise, combining the best elements of both.
Added value of multiple translation inputs
Dual forward translation, review and adjudication (TRAPD)
What? Psychological tests, comparative surveys such as the European Social Survey (ESS)
How? Two translations produced independently; review by a senior translator with domain expertise; a final version produced jointly by the three linguists in an adjudication meeting; cognitive debriefing (pre-testing) conducted with a partner organization.
Added value of multiple translation inputs, adjudication and pre-testing
Hybrid human-machine translation workflows
What? Projects with fast turn-around time, responses to online probes
How? Translation suggested by Neural machine translation (NMT) engines when not provided by a translation memory (TM); final review and post-editing of NMT suggestions by a human translator (MTPE).
Efficiency of machine translation; guarantee of human translation quality control
We provide translation services from English or French sources to many different target languages:
- English to Arabic
- English to Spanish
- English to Tagalog
- English to Umbundu
- French to Polish
- French to Wolof
- You name it
