Evaluating Multilingual Questionnaires: A Sociolinguistic Perspective
This study aims to develop an assessment tool to evaluate multilingual questionnaires by categorizing the types of translation issues that can lead to measurement errors in cross-cultural surveys. Based on the results of two multilingual projects that cognitively pretested the 2010 U.S. Census quest...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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European Survey Research Association
2014-12-01
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| Series: | Survey Research Methods |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ojs.ub.uni-konstanz.de/srm/article/view/5483 |
| _version_ | 1798037189196513280 |
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| author | Yuling Pan Marissa Fond |
| author_facet | Yuling Pan Marissa Fond |
| author_sort | Yuling Pan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study aims to develop an assessment tool to evaluate multilingual questionnaires by categorizing the types of translation issues that can lead to measurement errors in cross-cultural surveys. Based on the results of two multilingual projects that cognitively pretested the 2010 U.S. Census questionnaire in five languages and the American Community Survey questionnaire in two languages, we developed a coding scheme guided by sociolinguistic approaches to language and culture to evaluate translated questionnaires by classifying translation issues. In this paper we discuss how the coding scheme is useful in the evaluation of multilingual questionnaires and how it could be integrated productively into the development of such questionnaires and the early rounds of translation. We also suggest feasible solutions to translation issues, to ensure translation quality and achieve not only semantic but functional equivalence across translations.
Keywords: survey translation |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T21:23:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-99f07369da1c47b18804d7cbfdb623b3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1864-3361 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T21:23:11Z |
| publishDate | 2014-12-01 |
| publisher | European Survey Research Association |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Survey Research Methods |
| spelling | doaj.art-99f07369da1c47b18804d7cbfdb623b32022-12-22T04:02:32ZengEuropean Survey Research AssociationSurvey Research Methods1864-33612014-12-018310.18148/srm/2014.v8i3.54835458Evaluating Multilingual Questionnaires: A Sociolinguistic PerspectiveYuling Pan0Marissa Fond1US Census BureauCenter for Survey Measurement, U.S. Census BureauThis study aims to develop an assessment tool to evaluate multilingual questionnaires by categorizing the types of translation issues that can lead to measurement errors in cross-cultural surveys. Based on the results of two multilingual projects that cognitively pretested the 2010 U.S. Census questionnaire in five languages and the American Community Survey questionnaire in two languages, we developed a coding scheme guided by sociolinguistic approaches to language and culture to evaluate translated questionnaires by classifying translation issues. In this paper we discuss how the coding scheme is useful in the evaluation of multilingual questionnaires and how it could be integrated productively into the development of such questionnaires and the early rounds of translation. We also suggest feasible solutions to translation issues, to ensure translation quality and achieve not only semantic but functional equivalence across translations. Keywords: survey translationhttps://ojs.ub.uni-konstanz.de/srm/article/view/5483survey translationtranslation evaluationfunctional equivalencesociolinguisticsmultilingual questionnairemeasurement errors |
| spellingShingle | Yuling Pan Marissa Fond Evaluating Multilingual Questionnaires: A Sociolinguistic Perspective Survey Research Methods survey translation translation evaluation functional equivalence sociolinguistics multilingual questionnaire measurement errors |
| title | Evaluating Multilingual Questionnaires: A Sociolinguistic Perspective |
| title_full | Evaluating Multilingual Questionnaires: A Sociolinguistic Perspective |
| title_fullStr | Evaluating Multilingual Questionnaires: A Sociolinguistic Perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluating Multilingual Questionnaires: A Sociolinguistic Perspective |
| title_short | Evaluating Multilingual Questionnaires: A Sociolinguistic Perspective |
| title_sort | evaluating multilingual questionnaires a sociolinguistic perspective |
| topic | survey translation translation evaluation functional equivalence sociolinguistics multilingual questionnaire measurement errors |
| url | https://ojs.ub.uni-konstanz.de/srm/article/view/5483 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yulingpan evaluatingmultilingualquestionnairesasociolinguisticperspective AT marissafond evaluatingmultilingualquestionnairesasociolinguisticperspective |