Translating your Snap survey

Step 1: Exporting the original version of your survey

This worksheet assumes that you have created your questionnaire in one language before you start.

1. Click  or press [Ctrl] + [Q] to see the questionnaire window.
2. Select File|Translation to display the Translation Wizard dialog.
3. Select Prepare External Translation from the Action menu.

   

4. Click [Next]. Select Reference file only to create a list of the phrases that need translating.

   

   If you already have translated some of the questions, export to a Reference with a matched translation. This creates two files, one with the list of text to be translated, and one with the list of texts that have been translated (with gaps for untranslated text).

5. Make a note of the File name you use so you can find it later. Check the Omit repeated content box to leave out phrases that are used in multiple places (for example, ratings questions might all have the same possible answers).
6. Click [Start] to generate your file. When the export has completed, you will be given a brief report.

   

   If you want to keep a copy of the report, click [Send To] to save it to a file.

7. Click [OK] to clear the window.

Step 2: Sending the file to the translator

You now have a text file that you can send to your translator. They need to produce a translated file that matches the file that the translation wizard has produced. It needs to have the same number of lines and the same instructions to the translation wizard. These should not be translated. It also needs to be a plain text file (not a Word document).

The instructions are used to describe the question, and are all in capitals. For example, a question might appear in the file like this

QUESTION 6 (ref:Q3)

Which of the following best describes your current work status?

SUMMARY

Current work status

ANSWER

Employee in full-time job (30 hours or more per week)

Employee in part-time job (less than 30 hours per week)

Self-employed - full or part time

Government-supported training

Unemployed and available for work

Wholly retired from work

Full-time education at school, college or university

Looking after home/family

Permanently sick/disabled

Doing something else

You would ask your translator to translate the phrases between the lines in capitals. Their translation would look something like this.

QUESTION 6 (ref:Q3)

¿Cuál de las siguientes opciones describe mejor su empleo actual?

SUMMARY

Empleo actual

ANSWER

Empleado a jornada completa (30 horas o más a la semana)

Empleado a jornada parcial (menos de 30 horas a la semana)

Autónomo - a jornada completa o parcial

En formación ocupacional

En paro - buscando trabajo

Jubilado

Estudiante en Universidad o Colegio

Responsable de las labores del hogar

Incapacidad permanente

Otros

The generated translation file starts with a set of notes for the translator

• please translate between ‘START’ and ‘END’
• please do not translate START, END, TOPIC, NOTE, QUESTION, SUMMARY, ANSWER, FOOTNOTE, LANGUAGE: , etc.
• please do not add or remove lines
• Un-translatable questions may be removed provided the declaration line is left (and only this line)

{The declaration line is the line containing the reference name eg ‘(ref:V101)’}

• Please only place comments or warnings about a question at the end of the declaration line, following the ‘(ref:Vn)’

Step 3: Importing the new translated file

Before you import the translation, check the text file that you have received. Ensure that it has the same number of lines as the original, and all the lines in capitals are the same as in the original file.

You will need the original exported file as well as the translated file.

1. Open the questionnaire window for your survey. The example shows a survey that has only one language. You are going to create a new language edition when you import the translated file.

   

2. Select File|Translation to display the Translation Wizard dialog.
3. Select Apply External Translation from the Action menu.

   

4. Click [Next].
5. Select the language you wrote the questionnaire in as your Reference Language (this is English in our English to Spanish example).

   

6. Set the File name for the Reference Language to the file that you exported from the survey in Step 1.
7. Select Add Language as the translation language. This will add a new language edition to your questionnaire. (If you already have the correct language in your questionnaire, just select it in the list.)

   

8. The Define Language dialog appears. Set the language name in the Name list and click [OK].

   

9. Set the File name for the Translation language to the file you received from the translator.
10. Click [Start].
11. When the translation wizard finishes, you will see a report window.

    

    This shows the report on a question with numerals, where the numbers are the same in both languages.
    If you want to keep a copy of the report, click [Send To] to save it to a file.

12. Click [OK] to clear the window.
13. The translated language is added to your questionnaire. Click on the new tab to display it.