Hello Erini,

MInimally, I'd recommend that you:

1. Do a back translation of the questionnaire (an independent translator converts the translated Arabic version back to the original language), to verify that the starting and back-translated versions are comparable.

2. If prior research on the factor structure of the measure exists, then run a confirmatory factor analysis of the responses you get using the translated version. To the extent that a common model works across versions/cultures, that gives you more confidence that the questionnaire continues to measure the same thing(s).

Good luck with your work!

Thank you David

Hi!

I was asked to translate a questionnaire from Spanish to English; then, the English version was again translated into Spanish by someone else just to be 100% that the English translation had stayed true to the original Spanish version.

I would recommend that you do validate it before submitting it because it might not be accepted.

I hope this helps. Have a good one!

Thank you Lourdes. Just to confirm, you just did a back translation, and nothing further?

Hi, Erini

In my experience, subtle vocabulary (lexical connotation…) differences (even more so between languages) may easily have an influence on the responses collected thus compromising the data, especially if the questionnaire is self-administered. So, I would request an independent back translation. Additionally, I would pilot the questionnaire and compare preliminary results to those obtained with the original version before actually administering it.

Hope that helps.

Hello Erini,

I would recommend that you take a look at Tom Smith's chapter in the Handbook of Survey Research (Emerald, 2010), which discusses the challenges of translating and validating surveys. There are some good suggestions and best practices (along with relevant literature) to support the decision.

Also, from the perspective of translation studies, back translation is a problematic approach to translating a survey. You might also look at the book, The Sociology of Survey Translation (Routledge, 2019) and the special issue of Translation & Interpreting ( http://www.trans-int.org/index.php/transint/issue/view/45 ) for some additional references.

Thank you Antonio and Christopher!!!

Thank you all for your views, very useful for me too!

Validating a translated questionnaire is justified because an instrument used in one situation may be unfit for a similar situation elsewhere. Validation helps the researcher to find out if the instrument delivers what it promises.

Not only must a translated test be validated but corresponding items/stimuli/questions should be selected so as to tap the same information as the original, in accordance with the rationale that motivated the construction of the items in the first place. A simple translation won’t do. In particular, the various versions of the assessment tool must be culturally equivalent. The stimulus items from the original battery may be culturally inappropriate. They may refer to objects that either are not part of the culture or look or work differently, and hence would not be recognized or would be misunderstood. As an anecdotal example, when the French neurolinguist Henry Hécaen came to the Montreal Neurological Institute in the late fifties to check whether his test for apraxia developed in Paris could be validated on the Quebec French-speaking population, indeed all questions (e.g., how do you brush your teeth? How do you comb your hair? How do you make the sign of the cross? etc.) obtained the same gestural response – except one: How do you grind your coffee? All French participants held one fist motionless in front of their chest and turned around it with the other fist (in the traditional way of using a coffee grinder), while the Quebeckers moved one index finger forward in a downward fashion (as when pressing a button). It is very likely that a sample French population today would use the same gesture as Quebeckers (if they were still grinding their own coffee at all!). This shows that not only language and culture change across areas but also over time – and tests should be reviewed over the years to check for validity of its various components (Paradis, 2014).

Paradis, M. (2014). The assessment of bilingual aphasia. Plenary talk, 46th Indian Speech and Hearing Conference, Kochi, Kerala, India. 9 February.

Thank you Reza and Michael.

Hi, again. Yes, I only did it once and that was neough because i was a trusted resource.

Thanks Lourdes

Thanks Jasim

Professor Paradis said everything. Questionnaires must not only be translated, but "localized" , process in which language, content and applications are adapted for regional—or local— participants. Therefore, it has to be validated again in the target-language. Sometimes the frequency of the words used or even word order have impact on how people process the questions, and that may be translated into different reaction times... unclear questions.. etc.

Thanks Felipe

This paper provides handy guidelines for the process of translation and cross-cultural adaptation of healthcare instruments.

Sousa, V. D., & Rojjanasrirat, W. (2011). Translation, adaptation and validation of instruments or scales for use in cross-cultural health care research: a clear and user-friendly guideline. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 17(2), 268–274. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2753.2010.01434.x

Thank you Abonoub. It is very informative.