European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) 2026
About the Survey
The European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) conducted by European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) collects data on the living conditions and social situation of Europeans, and how they perceive those circumstances and their lives in general.
Project Scope
A consortium led by cApStAn managed the translation of the EQLS questionnaire into 25 European languages for all EU countries. Working with its partner Stoquart, cApStAn implemented an adapted TRAP-D methodology, combining machine translation (MT) and professional human translation (HT), followed by reconciliation, adjudication and proofreading.
The objective was to ensure linguistic and conceptual equivalence across all language versions.
For countries sharing a language, an additional adaptation step ensured that national linguistic and cultural differences were appropriately addressed. For example, the German questionnaire for Austria was adapted from the version developed for Germany.
Challenges
Translating for different modes
The English source questionnaire was initially designed to be mode-agnostic, meaning that it could be used across different survey administration modes. However, ensuring that prompts and instructions worked equally well in all target languages required careful linguistic adaptation.
This was particularly important because the EQLS combines online and paper-based self-completion, with additional face-to-face interviews in Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Poland and Slovenia. Certain formulations that worked across modes in English required adjustments in other languages to preserve clarity, consistency and meaning.
Integrating MT into the TRAP-D workflow
The adapted double-translation approach combined a professional human translation with a machine-generated version. Although the MT content was generally accurate and clear, it sometimes lacked the contextual sensitivity and nuanced interpretation required for certain questionnaire items. During online adjudication meetings, a translator and a reconciler drew on their linguistic expertise and knowledge of the local context to resolve these issues and agree on the most appropriate formulations.
Conveying exact meaning
Questions and items addressing socially sensitive topics were challenging to translate or adapt. Detailed feedback from the questionnaire authors helped guide the linguists, who then discussed this feedback during adjudication meetings, bringing their own perspectives on these sensitive questions according to their country’s local context.
Two examples illustrate how close collaboration with Eurofound helped preserve the intended meaning of survey questions across languages.
Outcome achieved
The combination of early source screening, detailed translation guidelines, structured adjudication and technology-supported workflows helped strengthen linguistic and conceptual consistency across the 25 target languages.
Close collaboration between cApStAn, Stoquart and Eurofound enabled potentially problematic formulations to be identified and clarified during the translation process. This proactive approach supported efficient decision-making and helped minimise the need for subsequent revisions.
The use of a computer-assisted translation (CAT) tool facilitated version management and ensured that linguists had access to customised translation notes, adaptation guidance and technical support throughout the project.
Together, these measures supported the project’s central objective: producing linguistically and conceptually equivalent questionnaire versions to facilitate meaningful cross-country comparisons.
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