Questionnaire Translation

Questionnaire translation refers to the process of translating survey instruments (or questionnaires) into all local language(s) of the study area. It is an essential step in conducting a high quality survey. Incomplete or poor translations can, at best, result in loss in nuance intended by the research team, and at worst, completely change the meaning of a question. It can undo all the work that goes into designing carefully-worded questionnaires.

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• The research team should set aside time for back-translation, which is the process of having a translator translate the local-language version of a questionnaire back to the original language, which is often English.
• Questionnaires often go through multiple stages of translation and back-translation. Therefore, version control is important, as it involves maintaining copies of each version during the translation process, so that no information is lost.
• Keep in mind that having enumerators translate on the go is not recommended either, as consistency and accuracy of translation can vary across enumerators.
• Enumerator effect is the problem that arises due to differences in the way a question is asked to each respondent because each enumerator shared a different translation of the same question.

Note: This section assumes that the working language of the research team is different from the local language(s) in the study area.

Guidelines

Researchers must keep complete, back-checked, translations for all questions in the survey instrument, and share these with enumerators during enumerator training. This is important to guarantee consistency, and helps to avoid the problem of enumerator effects (explained above).

The translation process

Lack of proper due-diligence during the translation process can cause delays, confusion, field errors, and potentially lead to inaccurate data collection. Researchers must remember that effective, or good translation takes time - so they should allocate a significant amount of time (say, two weeks)for this process, and expect a similar timeline for the process of editing and making corrections.

Researchers often rely on a content-focused pilot to gain valuable insights and feedback on the questionnaire. After finalizing and agreeing upon the contents of the questionnaire, follow these steps for translation:

1. Forward translation:This refers to the translation from the language of the research team to the local language(s). This process can take a few days to a few weeks, depending on the complexity of the questions in the survey instrument.
2. Back translation: Once researchers receive the first translation, they send the local language version only to another translator, and have it translated back to the language of the research team.
3. Reconciliation: compare the original questionnaire to the back-translated questionnaire. Highlight any discrepancies. It is a good idea to categorize these as either minor wording issues, or significant content concerns. Organize a meeting with the two translators, to discuss all discrepancies and agree on a final translation. Keep track of all questions where significant content concerns were noted, and discuss with local counterparts to ensure the final wording reflects the original intent.

Example: a questionnaire to be fielded in Malawi to a Chichewa-speaking population. The research team finalizes an English version of the questionnaire. It is then forward translated from English to Chichewa. The Chichewa version is then provided to a second translator for back translation from Chichewa to English. The two English versions are compared, and the Chichewa is discussed and refined, to reconcile all discrepancies between the back translation and the original version.

Who should translate?

Good translation requires significant time and skill. Best practice is to work with a professional translator with sector-specific knowledge, and experience translating surveys. Double-check all technical terminology with local counterparts well-versed in the area of the project (for example, for agricultural surveys, double-check translations of specific technologies of interest with agricultural extension officers or other trainers).

The mother tongue of the forward translator should be the local language. The mother tongue of the back translation should be the language of the research team.

Commonly suggested, but problematic, options for translators:

• the survey firm manager: unlikely to have sufficient time / attention / sectoral knowledge to dedicate to the task
• government counterparts: likely to have the right sectoral knowledge, but unless released from other duties, unusual to be able to devote sufficient time
• local consultant without translation experience: translation is challenging; fluency in the relevant languages is not always sufficient (and do not assume that oral fluency implies written fluency, which is necessary for this translation task)

The back translator should have no relation to the first translator. Beware of power dynamics between the two translators, that could affect decisions made during the reconciliation (e.g. if one translator is an employee of the other, or significantly lower in government hierarchy).

Version Control

Expect to make lots of corrections and refinements to translations through the data-focused pilot and Enumerator Training. It is a good idea to discuss all questions with discrepancies during Enumerator Training as a triple-check of the final translation. Throughout this process, it is essential to have at least one bilingual staff member that can carefully record all translation corrections.

To avoid version control issues, we recommend that the paper version of the questionnaire used for Enumerator Training includes the original language and all translations, side-by-side. Notes on all needed corrections or refinements can then be easily incorporated into all languages, without worries of different versions.

What about cases when oral translation is required, i.e. no written language?

Enumerator Training will need to be extended to spend significant time on translation. During training, have several people suggest translations for each question, then discuss and agree as a group. Leave space on the paper version of the questionnaire for enumerators to write the transliterated versions of the questions. Spend extra time doing mock interviews, with focused feedback on the translation.

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This article is part of the topic Questionnaire Design

Additional Resources

• DIME Analytics’ guidelines on survey design and pilot