Implementation Type: MLM: Multi-Language Management for Surveys in English or Spanish (the complete approach)

This page provides guidance for setting up and testing Automated Survey Invitations (ASIs) for surveys that can be completed in English or Spanish.

Setting up and testing the surveys, and setting up, managing and testing the participant's language preference are not included in this page.

Topics covered


Overview

Study Teams who want to send email or SMS* reminders to participants to complete their study surveys should plan on using ASIs. Like the surveys themselves, ASIs can be configured to be sent in English or Spanish, by study staff building the ASI in English and entering the Spanish translation of the ASI subject line and message into the MLM tool. 

Manually composed survey invitations that are set up via the Participant List or from the individual record cannot be translated by the MLM tool. These type of invitations would need to be composed in wither English or Spanish, and the staff would have to know the participant's language preference before composing the invitation.

SMS reminders require that the project use the Twilio integration.

Configuration Options

There are two different settings that can be configured in the MLM Tool for dictating the language in which an email message that is triggered via an Automated Survey Invitation is displayed in. Which setting you configure depends on the approach you use for managing the language preference for your ASIs, which we discuss in more detail later on this page.

Option 1: Configure a specially coded form field to talk to the MLM tool

 Option 2: Rely on the MLM language cookie saved to the participant's device


Set Up the ASI in English

  • Follow the guidance from Survey training and outline in the wiki to build out the ASI.
    • Enter the subject line and message in English.
  • Validate the ASI configuration via creating a test record to trigger the ASI. 
    • At this point you are not testing for a language preference. You are just validating the configuration of the ASI.


Support Track Availability

Standard Service for Research

MLM Wiki Pages

This is advanced or optional functionality that can only be enabled or installed by a REDCap admin and requires special instruction & support.

Intended Audience & Prerequisites

Intended Audience

  • Survey project builders/project point persons setting up research projects participating in the pilot.

Prerequisite Knowledge & Experience

  • Basics & Survey trainings.

  • Working knowledge of the Online Designer, Survey Settings, and optional survey tools.

Set Up Spanish Translation for ASI

  • Access the MLM Tool


  • Under Forms/Surveys tab, for Select a language, click on the Spanish button.


  • For a specific survey, under the ASIs column select the Translate button.


  • This loads a page to enter Spanish translations for the Subject and Message settings of the invitation.
  • For each setting there are controls to:
    • Enter a translation.
    • Use the rich text editor to format text.
    • Color-block; coded to denote translation status.
      • Red square = untranslated field
      • Green square = translated field


  • Enter the Spanish translation for each setting.
    • The default text is displayed in English.
    • Enter the Spanish translation below the default English text.
    • Click the Save Changes button.


Set Up the Language Preference for the ASI

In general, we expect study teams will need some guidance on determining and implementing the best approach or approaches for setting and managing the language preference for their ASIs. Depending on the complexity of the project and the requirements of the study, there may not be a singular approach for the project, but instead there may be different approaches for different ASIs, depending on the data collection workflow and what the study staff know about the participant before the invitation is sent out. Also, technically, the implementations are not especially intuitive and rely on familiarity with advanced features.

Considerations for Determining the Approach

  • Has the participant set or confirmed their language preference before you send the first survey invitation?
  • Will study staff reliably know the participant's language preference before sending the first survey invitation?
  • Are participants using their own device to complete study surveys?
  • Are the study staff involved in managing the participant's language preference OR are the participants managing their preference without any study staff intervention?

Approaches


Study Staff Manage Preference

Participant Manages Preference

Approach description

This is the most commonly used approach. An invitation is displayed in English or Spanish based on the language captured in a radio button field on a staff data entry form that has been configured in the MLM Tool for storing participant's language preference.

This approach is less commonly used. An invitation is displayed in English or Spanish based on the MLM language cookie saved to the participant's device. It would be rare to use this as a singular approach for a project

Recommend whenThe staff can reliably set the participant's language preference before an invitation is scheduled.

The project is set up to use ASIs to remind participants to complete individual surveys that are taken as part of a group of surveys, and the data collection workflow doesn't include an opportunity for the staff to capture the participant's language preference before the reminder invitations are scheduled.

Implementation
considerations

We recommend the study team monitor any changes to participant's language preference so that they can keep the language preference radio button field up-to-date.

The participant will need to have set their language preference using their device's default web browser and in advance of and on the same device that they will use to open the  survey invitation. The default web browser is the browser that is automatically used to open web links on a specific device.

If the participant opens the invitation on a device that they have not yet completed a survey on in their preferred language, the invitation will be displayed in English.

Setup notes

Configuration of Language Preference Field Set and Maintained by Study Staff


Designation of the Field in the MLM Tool to Store the Language Preference



Configuration an ASI to Use the Language Preference

Configuration of an ASI to Use the MLM Cookie on the Participants Device




Testing Instructions for ASI Language Preference

In order to validate how you've configured your project to set and manage the participants language preference for your ASI messages, you'll need to create separate test records that assert either English or Spanish as the language preference.

Pre-Validate the ASI Logic

For every ASI that will be translated, enter data to trigger and send automated invitation(s) in English. This is to confirm that, technically, ASI is functional, and so that you can create a testing environment for solely testing the language preference.

Test Study Staff Managing Language Preference

Test for English

  • Create a participant record.
  • Set the participants ASI language preference to English.
  • Enter data in the record to trigger the ASI and save.
    • Use your OHSU email for the participant's email address.
  • Navigate to the Survey Invitation Log.
  • Check if the invitation message and subject line are in presented in English.
  • When you receive the invitation, open it and confirm the invitation message and subject line are in presented in English.
  • Repeat this process for every ASI that is configured to be sent in English or Spanish based on the staff capturing the participant's preference in a field in a data entry form that's been designated as the language preference field.

Test for Spanish

  • Create a participant record.
  • Set the participants ASI language preference to Spanish.
  • Enter data in the record to trigger the ASI and save.
    • Use your OHSU email for the participant's email address.
  • Navigate to the Survey Invitation Log.
  • Check if the invitation message and subject line are in presented in Spanish.
  • When you receive the invitation, open it and confirm the invitation message and subject line are in presented in Spanish.
  • Repeat this process for every invitation that is configured to be sent in English or Spanish based on the staff capturing the participant's preference in a field in a data entry form that's been designated as the language preference field.

Test Participant Managing Language Preference

Test for English

  • Open your device's default browser.
    • The default web browser is the browser that is automatically used to open web links on a your device, for example when you click on a link in your email, the browser used to open that link is your default browser.
  • Create a participant record.
  • Open any survey (as a survey) and select English for the language preference.
  • This set the MLM cookie for your default browser.
  • Submit the survey.
  • Create a new participant record.
  • Enter data in the record to trigger the ASI and save.
    • Use your OHSU email for the participant's email address.
  • Navigate to the Survey Invitation Log.
  • Check if the invitation message and subject line are in presented in English.
    • When you receive the invitation, open it and confirm the invitation message and subject line are in presented in English.
  • Repeat this process for every ASI that is configured to be sent in English or Spanish based on the staff capturing the participant's preference in a field in a data entry form that's relying on MLM language cookie set on for the default browser on the participant's device.

Test for Spanish

  • Open your device's default browser.
    • The default web browser is the browser that is automatically used to open web links on a your device, for example when you click on a link in your email, the browser used to open that link is your default browser.
  • Create a participant record.
  • Open any survey (as a survey) and select English for the language preference.
  • This set the MLM cookie for your default browser.
  • Submit the survey.
  • Create a new participant record.
  • Enter data in the record to trigger the ASI and save.
    • Use your OHSU email for the participant's email address.
  • Navigate to the Survey Invitation Log.
  • Check if the invitation message and subject line are in presented in Spanish.
    • When you receive the invitation, open it and confirm the invitation message and subject line are in presented in Spanish.
  • Repeat this process for every ASI that is configured to be sent in English or Spanish based on the staff capturing the participant's preference in a field in a data entry form that's relying on MLM language cookie set on for the default browser on the participant's device.