Online QC (online link checks) is a critical step in the pre-fielding stage of a market research project. It can reduce the time and money spent on amending scripts to resolve display issues and enhance the quality and accuracy of data collected when the survey is launched.
Online QC is the process of reviewing translated surveys in situ before they are fielded. The linguist will use a pre-defined profile to pose as a respondent, running through the survey to identify and resolve potential issues before they have the chance to affect your results.
It’s a service that’s particularly popular for, and reassuring for, market research projects fielded in non-Latin alphabets and character languages, such as Arabic and Chinese, as these languages display very differently from English. Checks are carried out by either the translator who worked on the survey or by another, equally qualified proofreader if a second opinion is required.
The online QC process improves the accuracy and reliability of your research and provides peace of mind that your survey will be easily understood by your respondents when they come to complete it after it has gone live.
At The Language Factory, our expert linguists will ensure your survey translation displays correctly, making any necessary linguistic edits and enhancements to suit your target audience. They will validate the survey logic, routing, programming instructions, piping and inserts, as often complicated scripting isn’t visible to the respondent. We also ensure your desired respondents aren’t wrongly screened out however, when they’re meant to be, we make sure they see the correct end page. In short, our online QC (online link check) service guarantees optimal performance and prompt launch of your survey.
Online QC (online link checks) are part of the suite of quality control processes used in market research. Linguists will go through the links as pre-defined respondents to ensure that translations display correctly and in full in the survey link, including survey instructions, piping and inserts, and error messages. It’s particularly useful for non-Latin alphabets or those that display from right to left.
Performing online link checks helps prevent incorrectly displayed language, issues with piping or inserts and inconsistent respondent experiences, all of which can affect data quality, response rates and research validity.
Online QC can detect missing translations in multilingual surveys, issues with piping or inserts, display issues with non-Latin alphabets and character languages and language that display from right to left rather than left to right.
Our professional linguists go through the survey links as pre-defined personas, dictated by the target audience of the survey. They check for missing translations, correctly applied piping and inserts, relevant instructions and error messages, checking where required against the source materials for accuracy and suitability for purpose.
Time varies by survey length, complexity and number of personas. Typically, checks can range from 1 to 2 days for standard surveys but may take longer for larger, more complex surveys, or where linguists need to go through multiple times as different personas.
Yes, online QC will be performed across all language versions to ensure they all function as they should. Each language is checked by a different professional translator, selected based on their language and the market they serve, e.g. a Spanish-speaking linguist from Mexico rather than Spain for a survey designed for Mexico.
By ensuring the link displays correctly in the relevant language, online QC improves response rates, reduces respondent frustration and ensures that collected data accurately reflects participant input.
Most survey platforms offer basic link validation, but they don’t replace specialised QC that checks multilingual content, translation accuracy and correct application of inserts and piping. Our service fills that gap.
Pricing depends on survey length, languages and project complexity. Contact us for a custom quote tailored to your specific research and localisation needs.
We are proud of our long-standing association with the Market Research Society and membership of language industry bodies, ATC (Association of Translation Companies) and ITI (Institute of Translation and Interpreting), abiding by their strict codes of conduct and demonstrating our commitment to best practice for the benefit of our clients.
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