Overlay & Link Checking Services
Check that your translated survey displays and behaves as intended before respondents see it. Our multilingual overlay and live-link reviews compare programmed questionnaires with approved wording and agreed routing, helping your team identify language and display issues before launch.
For research agencies, insight teams and international questionnaire projects. We scope translation review, programmed survey QA and retests separately.
What overlay and link checking covers
Reviewers examine the agreed respondent-facing links against approved questionnaires. We identify defects and report them for the client or programming team to resolve.
Text and answer options
Question copy, instructions, labels, answer scales, order and missing or incorrectly implemented translations.
Navigation and logic
Agreed skip paths, qualifying and screened-out responses, piping, placeholders, next/back controls and end screens.
Mobile and script display
Text wrapping, clipped labels, browser/device rendering, non-Latin fonts and right-to-left or mixed-direction interfaces.
Testing every possible branch, browser and device is not assumed. Confirm the priority test matrix and any independent final sign-off before work starts.
Translation QA, back-translation or overlay checking?
These services support different stages of a multilingual research project. Choose the review according to the risk and the point your questionnaire has reached.
Survey translation QA
Compares target-language copy with the approved source, looking at meaning, terminology, response options and cross-market consistency.
Market research translation →Back-translation
Independently renders translated questions back into the source language to investigate discrepancies. It does not prove equivalence or replace pretesting.
Overlay & live-link QA
Checks what respondents can actually see and do, including approved language, routing and display on the agreed test links.
See live-link checks →The Cross-Cultural Survey Guidelines recommend documented team review, adjudication and pretesting for cross-cultural questionnaire translation. These are distinct from a technical overlay review.
Four steps for a checked multilingual survey
A practical QA workflow identifies the reference version, exercises agreed paths and records corrections so the right team can act.
Prepare test cases
Supply version-labelled language files, question IDs, routing, staging links, access and the device/browser matrix.
Review the display
Compare text, answer scales, links, errors and language direction. Flag clipped or missing content with screenshots.
Check the flow
Exercise scoped eligibility, branching, screen-outs, piping, back navigation and termination paths against expected outcomes.
Log and retest
Record defects by language and question ID with steps to reproduce, severity, owner and agreed retest result.
Language issues can look like software issues
Programmed surveys can display words correctly in one environment yet fail in another. An in-language review helps distinguish translation defects from implementation and interface issues.
- Right-to-left Arabic or Hebrew display and control alignment
- Mixed-language punctuation, numbers, URLs and placeholders
- French or German wording around inserted piped values
- Long answer text clipped or wrapping poorly on phones
- Translated error messages and end-screen instructions
What your issue log should capture
Market, language, survey version, test URL and question ID.
Test steps, expected vs displayed text, screenshot and severity.
Owner, fix status, retest result and final acceptance decision.
Support for new launches and tracking surveys
We scope review work around the survey's stage, languages, respondent paths and version changes—not a generic promise of full coverage.
New multilingual launches
Compare the first programmed test links with approved questionnaire copies and selected routing paths before fieldwork begins.
Tracking study updates
Review changed question IDs and translations against the approved prior wave, with regression checks on affected displays and flows.
Deadline-sensitive checks
Prioritise specific market links, devices and respondent paths where time is limited. Feasibility, coverage and retest rounds are agreed before confirmation.
What we need to quote your survey
Send enough information to understand the links and checks required. For sensitive research data, request a secure transfer route rather than attaching participant records to a public form.
- Languages, markets and number of live or staging links
- Approved source and translations with stable question IDs
- Routing specification, test paths and access instructions
- Browser/device priorities and any RTL requirements
- Deadline, defect-report format and retest rounds
Included only when specified
Translation and language QA, programmed survey checks, retesting and an independent final review are separate workstreams.
Recruitment, survey hosting, survey programming, original questionnaire translation and launch approval are not automatically included in overlay/link checking.
Defects are reported to the responsible team. Your programmer implements code or logic changes, and the survey owner authorises launch.
Overlay and link checking FAQs
What is overlay checking in survey translation?
Overlay checking compares the respondent-facing text in a programmed survey with its approved translated questionnaire. It identifies issues such as omitted words, truncated labels, incorrect answer options and character display.
Does link checking include survey programming?
No. In-language reviewers can report defects and confirm retests within the agreed scope, but programming changes and launch approval remain the survey owner’s responsibility unless contracted separately.
Can you test survey routing and skip logic?
Specified test paths can be checked against an approved routing document, including eligibility, skips, piping and termination screens. Complete path and device coverage must be agreed and is not assumed.
Can you review Arabic or other right-to-left surveys?
Yes, where appropriate reviewers and devices are agreed. Checks may include Arabic or Hebrew text direction, mixed scripts, numbers, input fields, controls and mobile display.
Is back-translation part of overlay checking?
No. Back-translation is a separate diagnostic exercise where a translated text is rendered back into the source language for comparison. It does not replace bilingual review, pretesting or live-link QA.
What do you need to quote a multilingual survey check?
Send the language and market list, approved translated questionnaires, version and question IDs, staging URLs, access instructions, routing details, devices, deadline and requested retest rounds. Do not send real participant records through the public form.
Check your multilingual survey links
Tell us the markets, approved questionnaire versions, survey platforms, link count and deadline. We can confirm the linguistic and live-link QA scope that fits your project.
Discuss overlay and link checking
Use the existing enquiry form to tell us about the number of country links, survey versions, languages, test paths and deadline.
Do not submit live participant records or sensitive responses through this public form. Contact hello@locatetranslate.co.uk to discuss secure file transfer.