Road Tests and Online Reviews
Imagine an automobile company putting a new car to market without road testing it first. That is the equivalent of market researchers putting a multilingual survey out in the field without it having gone through an online review. Both the road test and online review work out the bugs, and ensure that the product or instrument is ready to go.
For market and public opinion researchers, an online review can greatly impact the validity of responses and accuracy of a multilingual survey.
We translate thousands of surveys each year into multiple languages. In many cases, our market research clients ask us to perform an online review of the translated surveys. This service usually involves us tasking a professional linguist to review a programmed survey online against the approved translation. The reviewer actually takes the survey online, and using directions or notes from the client as guidance, checks to not only ensure the accuracy of the translation, but also that the survey operates correctly in the new language.
For instance, many surveys may skip questions or jump to a different part of the survey based on the respondent’s initial responses. The reviewer confirms that the survey is programmed, or operates, as it should based on the responses.
An online review provides the following benefits to market researchers:
- Final check of the program, and detection of issues that may have occurred during programming.
- The possibly only occasion for a native linguist to review the actual, translated program before it goes out to field.
- For a survey with many inserts, the reviewer makes sure that they are all being piped in correctly, and that they work contextually.
Just like your Ford Mustang or Porsche 911, road testing your survey with an online review helps to ensure strong user experience and accuracy in your research instrument. For more information on our experience with market research companies or for a free quote on your next project, please contact us at info@cetra.com.
