I want to translate an english version scale to another language to make it more user friendly to local populations, especially for those who does not know english.
Yes. However, the best thing to say is that you are cross-culturally adapting the instrument. Before you can do that, you need to be well vast in the belief and socio-cultural system of the target population. It is also imperative to intimate the original developer(s) of the instrument about your intention. After this, you need an independent peer-translators who are both proficient in the construct of the subject, have good knowledge of the culture and belief of the people and who understand the appropriate language of the people to translate the instrument to the new language. This translated copy will then be subjected to focus group discussion for face and content validity. The draft instrument will then be giving to another set of independent peer-translators who will back-translate to the original language of the instrument. Another focus group discussion will look into the construct of the forward and back-translated copies and harmonise the discrepancies if any. The translated instrument will then be taken through other psychometric tests.
Hi Ratan,
Yes there is a set procedure for the scale translation as suggested in the earlier reading. Followed by this the psychometric properties of the scale need to be established.
Ratan
I found this in RG that should be of use to you.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/46577217_Translation_adaptation_and_validation_of_instruments_or_scales_for_use_in_cross-cultural_health_care_research_a_clear_and_user-friendly_guideline?ev=srch_pub&_sg=GCclzR4X6dQOOXXqumxcMlRSR6xtrpkAje8X1JQ59Kw3ASwkfItTRJi4O9y7UqxK_0ZO5n5r5uBfR7esFF%2FXKWiLKmPDoxbHGuMzRZiLPNXDFcIGbpnfBQCCaO4nb5umg
Article Translation, adaptation and validation of instruments or sca...
Dear Ratan
This article may be useful for you
J Adv Nurs. 2007 May;58(4):386-95.
Translation of scales in cross-cultural research: issues and techniques.
Cha ES1, Kim KH, Erlen JA
When translating scales... it is first required to be classified as Qualitative or Quantitative scale....If it is Qualitative then, the exact dialect meaning and its interpretations should be identified....There can be a separate note on the description of the scale...
I agree with Caleb and Hans Timmerman views. In addition internal validity to the cross-cultural adaptation translation should be obtained.
Hi Ratan,
These links may be of help.
http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/research_tools/translation/en/
http://dgim.ucsf.edu/cadc/cores/measurement/translationguide.pdf
http://staff.ui.ac.id/system/files/users/andisk/material/guidelinesfortheprocessofcrossculturaladaptation.pdf
But as pointed out, a mere translation may not be sufficient. The context of the questions changes across cultures and hence the validity and reliability of the scale may also be different in different cultures.
Dear Ratan,
It would be interesting to have any expert physician that manage currently both languages, traslating with the propper meanings in order to have a reproductible and feasible scale.
Also, check the COSMIN guidelines for self reported measures Terwee et al
Dear Ratan,
we have translated several scales from English to Swedish using the Forward- and backward translation as suggested by the WHO. You find the instructions on WHO here: http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/research_tools/translation/en/ Good luck!
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