The CSDI (Comparative Survey Design and Implementation) Workshop at the SHARE BERLIN Institute GmbH in Berlin, Germany
2024-02-29
by Anubhav Nathani

CSDI Workshop in Berlin | Bank for International Survey Answer Scales (BISAS): A Call to Action

The CSDI (Comparative Survey Design and Implementation) Workshop will be held on March 18th – 20th at the SHARE BERLIN Institute GmbH in Berlin, Germany. In a session organised by Dorothee Behr from GESIS and focusing on methods, innovations and new challenges in questionnaire translation, Musab Hayatli, cApStAn Inc. in collaboration with Yongwei Yang from …

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2024-01-05
by Pisana Ferrari

“cApStAn at a scale”, Jan Denys, CEO, and Steve Dept, Founding Partner

No comparative surveys without comparable data Twenty-four years ago, cApStAn started developing, testing, fine-tuning and implementing methods to ensure comparability between different language versions of tests and questionnaires. That was our core activity and it still is. Tests and questionnaires are measurement instruments. They measure knowledge, skills, attitudes, trends, or opinions. They link data points …

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2023-12-18
by Pisana Ferrari

“Navigating the Seas of Linguistic Quality: A Chronicle of cApStAn’s 22-Year Odyssey” 

I am Andrea Ferrari, an Italian national, born in Peru. I was exposed to a multicultural environment from early on, living and studying in Canada, Italy, Australia, Greece, and Belgium. I earned a degree in Business Engineering from the Solvay Business School, Brussels, did a stint with a major multinational (Procter & Gamble) but switched …

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2023-11-20
by Pisana Ferrari

“What it takes to build a boutique language solutions provider: a cApStAn founder nails it”

Founders of boutique language solution providers are often overrated and cApStAn is a case in point in this regard. I am Steve Dept, a linguist by training—though not a translator—and a polyglot, initially because my parents travelled a lot: before the end of secondary school, I had attended 14 schools in 4 different languages. While attending German …

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2023-07-31
by Pisana Ferrari

cApStAn LQC Founding Partner Steve Dept and cApStAn Inc Managing Director Musab Hayatli at ESRA Conference in July

cApStAn Founding Partner Steve Dept, from the company’s headquarters in Belgium, and Musab Hayatli, Managing Director of cApStAn Inc, USA are just back from the Biennial ESRA Conference in Milan (July 17-21, 2023) where they were both presenters. As Steve comments: “An impressive conference venue on the Bicocca university campus, insightful sessions, great connections made. …

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2023-06-28
by Pisana Ferrari

Multilingual Skills Assessment Translation Series, Episode 5: Disentangling Proficiency in required Skills from Proficiency in Language

This is the 5th and final issue in our “Multilingual Skills Assessment Translation series”. The primary objective of this series is to provide a comprehensive illustration of the complexities inherent in test translation. By doing so, we aim to underscore the immense value derived from establishing a robust linguistic quality assurance design. This episode takes a closer look …

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2023-06-24
by Pisana Ferrari

Reflections from the e-Assessment Association (eAA) Conference: Insights, Connections, and New Perspectives

The 2023 edition of the e-Assessment Association Conference, which took place in London, June 6-7, offered valuable insights, connections, and fresh perspectives to industry professionals, encouraging collaboration and knowledge exchange. It covered a broad range of topics, including language bias in AI and inclusive assessment practices, exam security enhancements, innovative test design, guidelines for validity …

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2023-06-20
by Pisana Ferrari

Multilingual Skills Assessment Translation series, part 4: Maximising fairness, reliability, and validity in multilingual tests after translation

This is the 4th issue in our “Multilingual Skills Assessment Translation series”. The primary objective of this series is to provide a comprehensive illustration of the complexities inherent in test translation. By doing so, we aim to underscore the immense value derived from establishing a robust linguistic quality assurance design. This episode takes a closer …

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2023-06-16
by Pisana Ferrari

Introducing the Translation and Adaptation Chapter of the ITC/ATP Guidelines for Technology-Based Assessment

This article by Steve Dept, Founding Partner of cApStAn, was originally published on the ATP Global website and is part of a series supporting the ITC/ATP Guidelines for Technology-based Assessment. The article can be downloaded at this link The myth that a well-crafted test with robust psychometric properties is, in theory, always portable across languages …

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2023-05-29
by Pisana Ferrari

Multilingual skills assessment translation series, Episode 1: Unlocking the power of existing translations from a previous test cycle

This is the first episode of an informative series on good practice in skills assessments translation. It is based on cApStAn’s extensive experience in the multilingual assessments on which we have worked with reputable testing organisations. The purpose of the series is to illustrate the complexity of test translation and the added value of a …

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2023-05-23
by Pisana Ferrari

cApStAn LQC team attends 78th AAPOR conference in Philadelphia

cApStAn team members Grace DeLee and Musab Hayatli joined survey and public opinion researchers in attending the 78th conference of AAPOR, the leading association of public opinion and survey research professionals, which took place in Philadelphia, from May 10th to May 12th. The conference provided a unique opportunity for Grace and Musab to exchange ideas …

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2023-05-13
by Pisana Ferrari

cApStAn Founding Partner Steve Dept presenting at e-Assessment 2023 on how to mitigate bias in multilingual and monolingual assessments

cApStAn co-founder Steve Dept is delighted to have been invited to be a speaker at the International e-Assessment and Awards conference taking place in London June 6-7, 2023. His talk, titled “Meaning shifts, perception shifts – language as a component of inclusiveness”, is scheduled for Day 1 at 11:00 BST. In multilingual or in monolingual …

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