Translation of survey instruments

Alisú Schoua-Glusberg, Ph.D.

Research Support Services

DC/AAPOR Presentation – 7/7/04

Translation methods for survey instruments

This presentation will focus on:  problems involved in questionnaire translation  methods and approaches for the translation of survey instruments,  use of qualitative methods to assess translation quality and the performance of the translated instrument,  providing survey translators the information they need.

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When is Questionnaire Translation Necessary?

 Cross-national studies  Cross-cultural studies  National studies by Federal Statistical Agencies  Studies of special populations  Studies where sample falls in areas with significant concentrations of speakers of other languages Research Support Services - 2004 2

Factors to Consider to Define the Target Audience of Translated Instruments

        Language minorities Immigrant populations Monolingual (or at least not bilingual) Language different from designers’ Lower level of education Age at immigration Hybrid culture Different degrees of acculturation Research Support Services - 2004 3

Source & Target Question Characteristics to Consider

 Meaning  Style  Complexity  Source flexibility  Cultural aspects  Existence of equivalent realities Research Support Services - 2004 4

Using Previous Translations of Questions vs. Translating Anew

Issues:  Maintaining longitudinal comparability vs. improving questions  Is priority to compare with past translations or with English questionnaire?

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Questionnaires are a Complex Text Type

 Little context to clarify ‘intended meaning’  Ambiguous  Measurement properties lead to ‘surveyspeak’ and ‘scalespeak’ ( Harkness 1996 )  Translators thus often not versed in questionnaire discourse ‘rules’  Special kind of conversation Research Support Services - 2004 6

Question ‘Equivalence’ is Expected in Translation

Expectation that the translated question…  Says the same thing      Means the same thing Measures the same thing Measures equivalently (e.g. scales) Imposes same burden on respondents Meets reliability and validity requirements Research Support Services - 2004 7

Translators’ Job

Translators make decisions about:   Semantics Syntax (structure)  Pragmatics They need to understand:  Intended “meaning” in order to translate  Covert (measurement) intention and requirements Research Support Services - 2004 8

Translators therefore…

 Have little context and co-text  Have little supporting documentation  Often have no questionnaire ‘author’ to consult  May experience uncertainly about what to “match”  May make decisions based on their experience with

other

types of text Research Support Services - 2004 9

Risks of Overly Close Translations

 Focus on meaning of words rather than meaning of questions  Rs are inadvertently asked a different question  Processing is more complex  Translated questionnaire sounds unidiomatic Research Support Services - 2004 10

Steps in producing and testing quex translations

 Translation  Translation review  Decisions/Adjudication  Quality control  Qualitative research  Pretesting  Documentation Research Support Services - 2004 11

Survey Translation Approaches

 One translator - one translation (direct translation)  Multiple translators – one translation (split committee)  Multiple translators committee) – multiple parallel translations (parallel Research Support Services - 2004 12

Committee Approach

 Three translators prepare translations independently (split or parallel)  Reconciliation meeting with referee  Qualitative research with monolinguals (focus groups and/or cognitive interviews) Research Support Services - 2004 13

Committee Approach: Reconciliation Meeting

 Question-by-question review  Reaching consensus when possible  Providing alternatives if no consensus possible  Identifying terms/items for qualitative research Research Support Services - 2004 14

Committee Approach: Referee’s Role

 Resolves style disagreements  Manages interaction  Brings survey researcher perspective  Keeps an eye on source version  Pushes for global decisions  Liaison with research team for consultation and documentation Research Support Services - 2004 15

Committee Approach: Cognitive Interviews

 Allow to administer all or part of instrument  Give a glimpse into thought processes  Allow to see how different alternative terms work Research Support Services - 2004 16

Committee Approach: Focus Groups

 Permit to distinguish what is idiosyncratic  Allow us to listen to how Rs. use language  Allow to include more people in a shorter time  Allow to include different national origin Rs and see if they reach consensus Research Support Services - 2004 17

Advantages of Committee/ Team Approaches

 Group process benefits  Include different varieties of language in translation team  Qualitative research that follows allows to incorporate the target population into process  Relatively low cost  Relatively quick Research Support Services - 2004 18

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Selected Committee Translations: 2000-2004

NSFG (U. Mich.) ATUS (BLS) NHSDA (RTI) ICARIS (Battelle) NMHS (Battelle) SLAITS Asthma Q. (Abt) Job Corps Student Q. (Battelle) Survey of Consumer Attitudes (U. Mich.) Catholic Voters Political Attitudes (BRS) McNair Program Evaluation (DIR) L.A. Latino Eye Study (USC)         Women’s Health Initiative Q. (U. Mich.) WHO Health & Performance Q. (Harvard) PHDCN (Harvard) Project Bread (UMass-Boston) California Safe Schools (RAND) CAHPS Dialysis Center (RAND) National Children’s Study Pilot (Battelle) Survey of Bioterrorism Pre paredness (N.Y. Academy of Medicine) Research Support Services - 2004 19

Assessing Translations: some procedures

(Harkness, Pennell, Schoua-Glusberg – ASA, 2003)       Textual assessments  Translation appraisal  Holistic approaches, e.g., TRAPD, committee  Back translation Pretesting with bilinguals, e.g.,  Splits  Double administrations Debriefings Probe interviews Think alouds with Respondent or Translator Focus groups with sample population Research Support Services - 2004 20

Backtranslation

    One person translates from source into target language.

A second person translates the target language version back into the source language.

A third person compares the original and the backtranslated source language versions.

Discrepancies are investigated.

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What is wrong with back translation?

It is a black box: we know what went in, we know what came out, yet we know nothing about the adequacy of the target language version.

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Why give Q-by-Q specs to translators?

In the absence of question-by-question specifications, translators make their own decisions…   to resolve ambiguities to figure what “they” mean These are most often not documented or even explicit. They happen in the translator’s mind.

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Research Conducted

 Goal: to examine translators’ decision processes  Vehicle: Recorded a translators’ Committee meeting  Method: Listened to tape searching for decisions made during discussions Research Support Services - 2004 24

Why this design?

 Committee discussion involves: – Review – Translation – Adjudication  Makes decisions verbally explicit Research Support Services - 2004 25

Transcription Detail:

 2 hours of committee meeting  11 pages of questionnaire  110 questions Research Support Services - 2004 26

Example 1

How would your parents feel if they found out you drank alcohol sometimes?

 Not at all upset  A little upset   Pretty upset Very upset Research Support Services - 2004 27

Discussion about “upset”

Did “they” mean… Angry?

Perturbed / Bothered?

Given context, committee decided to translate upset as angry.

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Example 2

I think sometimes it’s okay to cheat at school.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Research Support Services - 2004 29

Discussion about ‘cheat’

Original Item: I think sometimes it’s okay to cheat at school.

First translation:  Creo que a veces está bien hacer trampa en la escuela.

Referee: “¿Hacer trampa? Everyone agrees?” Orig. Tr.: To me it refers to copying in exams.

Tr2: “You can also copy when you are doing homework or other schoolwork, that is cheating too, not only in exams.” “And you could cheat in sports, so we need to be specific. In this case this refers to school work, not to playing volleyball.” Resolution: Creo que a veces está bien copiar o hacer trampa en mis exámenes y tareas escolares.

(

I think sometimes it’s okay to copy or cheat in my exams and schoolwork.)

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Example 3

How do you feel about your ability to care for your teen when they are sick or upset?

Discussion about ‘upset’.

In this case, the discussion centered around whether ‘upset’ meant angry, not feeling well, or bothered by something.

The committee went with the latter option.

(‘upset’: molesto) Research Support Services - 2004 31

Example 4

How do you feel about your ability to discipline your teen?

Discussion about ‘discipline’. Do “they” mean: • • • Punish?

Teach them to behave properly? Set rules for them?

Checked with client who opted for ‘punish’.

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Example 5

How do you feel about your ability to obtain needed resources for your teen?

Discussion about ‘resources’. Did “they” mean...

Material resources?

Assistance/help?

Client asked to preserve the ambiguity as much as possible. Translated as ‘recursos’.

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Example 6

During the past week, how often did you let this teen know you really care about him/her?

Discussion about ‘care’. Did “they” mean… love?

concern?

Committee decide to include both: … how much you love him/her and are concerned about him/her Research Support Services - 2004 34

Providing Specifications: Ideal Model

Three steps: 1.

Deliver question-by-question specifications 2.

Review original text with translation team member 3.

Ask translators to make their decisions explicit and submit them for review.

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Q# Original Q.

Format for Documentation

D/Q Specify decision or question Issue Research Support Services - 2004 36

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Recent/Current Efforts to Standardize Translation Procedures

U.S. Census Bureau translation guidelines  International Social Survey Programme’s translation methods’ work  European Social Survey Implemented Procedures in 20+ countries  European Social Survey and Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe analyzing translation and documentation outputs  CAHPS Cultural Comparability Task Force  NCHS Translation Issues Forum  CSDI (Comparative Survey Design and Implementation Translation Task Force) Research Support Services - 2004 37