Evaluating standards in cross-language research: A critique of Squires’ criteria

Croot, Elizabeth; Lees, Janet; Grant, Gordon

doi:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2011.04.007

Cited by 40 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Before discussing translations in specific stages of the research process, we want to address the question: ‘What entails a valid translation?’ With this question, we enter an epistemological debate [12]. Researchers within a positivist paradigm may strive for objectivity, trying to reach a ‘correct’ version of the text, for example by using professional translators and procedures such as forward-backward translation [8].…”

Section: Translations In An International Cross-language/cross-culturmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

‘How would you call this in English?’: Being reflective about translations in international, cross-cultural qualitative research

Helmich¹,

Cristancho²,

Diachun³

et al. 2017

Perspect Med Educ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

IntroductionMedical education researchers increasingly collaborate in international teams, collecting data in different languages and from different parts of the world, and then disseminating them in English-language journals. Although this requires an ever-present need to translate, it often occurs uncritically. With this paper we aim to enhance researchers’ awareness and reflexivity regarding translations in qualitative research.MethodsIn an international study, we carried out interviews in both Dutch and English. To enable joint data analysis, we translated Dutch data into English, making choices regarding when and how to translate. In an iterative process, we contextualized our experiences, building on the social sciences and general health literature about cross-language/cross-cultural research.ResultsWe identified three specific translation challenges: attending to grammar or syntax differences, grappling with metaphor, and capturing semantic or sociolinguistic nuances. Literature findings informed our decisions regarding the validity of translations, translating in different stages of the research process, coding in different languages, and providing ‘ugly’ translations in published research reports.DiscussionThe lessons learnt were threefold. First, most researchers, including ourselves, do not consciously attend to translations taking place in international qualitative research. Second, translation challenges arise not only from differences in language, but also from cultural or societal differences. Third, by being reflective about translations, we found meaningful differences, even between settings with many cultural and societal similarities. This conscious process of negotiating translations was enriching. We recommend researchers to be more conscious and transparent about their translation strategies, to enhance the trustworthiness and quality of their work.

show abstract

Section: Translations In An International Cross-language/cross-culturmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a consequence, it is deemed critical to transparently report the roles and demographic characteristics of both researchers and translators, reflecting on how they may have influenced the construction of data [4, 10, 12]. …”

Section: Translations In An International Cross-language/cross-culturmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘How would you call this in English?’: Being reflective about translations in international, cross-cultural qualitative research

Helmich¹,

Cristancho²,

Diachun³

et al. 2017

Perspect Med Educ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This relatively exhaustive translation process still might not convey attitude (Croot, Lees, & Grant, 2011;Larkin, de Casterlé, & Schotsmans, 2007). For example, " .…”

Section: The Translation Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Smith et al, (2008) recommends that members of the research team who are fluent in the original language undertake the identification of categories. Thus, the best candidate for translator-moderator is the person who is fluent in both the source language and the target language (Birbili, 2000;Chen & Boore, 2009;Croot et al, 2011;Squires, 2008;Temple, 1997). Someone who is truly bilingual is even better (Hunt & Bhopal, 2004;Svetlana, 2007).…”

Section: Who Should Translate Data?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this process, the primary researcher used fluid descriptions of meanings, drawing on various English formulations while checking these against the original transcriptions of interview data to ensure accuracy (Fenna et al, 2010). This approach was supported by Temple (2002) who emphasized that the focus of translation should not be wholly concentrated on "precise" word choice because translation, in this sense, is about recreating meaning rather than revealing it (Croot et al, 2011;Temple & Young, 2004). Discussion can be used as a procedural tool for achieving conceptual equivalence because these oral translations aid understanding.…”

Section: The Translation Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Conducting a Grounded Theory Study in a Language Other Than English

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Translation can be a problem area for researchers conducting qualitative studies in languages other than English who intend to publish the results in an English-language journal. Analyzing the data is also complex when the research team consists of people from different language backgrounds. Translation must be considered as an issue in its own right to maintain the integrity of the research, especially in a grounded theory study. In this article, we offer guidelines for the process of translation for data analysis in a grounded theory study in which the research was conducted in a language other than English (Indonesian). We make recommendations about procedures to choose when, who, and how to translate data. The translation procedure is divided into four steps which are as follows: translation in the process of coding, translation in the process of team discussion, translation in the process of advanced coding, and ensuring the accuracy of translation.

show abstract

Recognizing and Addressing Language Discordance

Squires

2024

The Handbook of Language in Public Health and Healthcare

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Evaluating standards in cross-language research: A critique of Squires’ criteria

Cited by 40 publications

References 18 publications

‘How would you call this in English?’: Being reflective about translations in international, cross-cultural qualitative research

‘How would you call this in English?’: Being reflective about translations in international, cross-cultural qualitative research

Conducting a Grounded Theory Study in a Language Other Than English

Recognizing and Addressing Language Discordance

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About