As researchers begin including individuals from diverse populations and language groups in their research efforts, it will become increasingly imperative that standardized procedures for translation of instruments to other languages be followed to ensure equivalency of translations. This article describes the translation process and identifies translation difficulties noted in adult education practice. This procedure for translation includes the use of a combination of back translation, committee approach, the bilingual technique or variations thereof, decentering techniques, administration of both language versions of an instrument to bilinguals, and pilot testing. Guidelines are recommended for translation procedures and an illustrative example of a translation project is included.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Berry, J. W.
(1980). Introduction to methodology. In H. C. Triandis & J. W. Berry (Eds.), Handbook of cross-cultural psychology: VoL 2. Methodology (pp. 1-28). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
2.
Bontempo, R
, Lobel, S., & Triandis, H. (1990). Compliance and value internalization in Brazil and the U.S.: Effects of allocentrism and anonymity. Joumal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 21(2), 200-213.
3.
Borg, W. R
, & Gall, M. D. (1983). Educatonal research (3rd ed.). New York: Longman.
4.
Boshier, R
(1991). Psychometric properties of the alternative form of the Education Participation Scale. Adult Education Quarterly, 41(3), 150-167.
5.
Boucher, J.
(1979). Culture and emotion. In A. Marsella, R Tharpe, & T. Ciborowski (Eds.), Perspectives on cross-culturalpsychology (pp. 159-178). New York: Academic Press.
6.
Brislin, R. W.
(1970). Back-translation for cross-cultural research. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology,1(3), 185-216.
7.
Brislin, R W.
(Ed.). (1976). Translation: Applications and research.New York: Gardner Press.
8.
Brislin, R W.
(1980). Translation and content analysis of oral and written materials. In H. C. Triandis & J. W. Berry (Eds.), Handbook of cross-cultural psychology: VoL 2 Methodology (pp. 389-444). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
9.
Brislin, R
, Lonner, W., & Thorndike, R. (1973). Cross-cultural research methods.New York: John Wiley & Sons.
10.
Campbell, D.
, Brislin, R, Stewart, V., & Werner, 0. (1970). Back-translation and other translation techniques in cross-cultural research. Paper submitted for publicaton.
11.
Casagrande, J.
(1954). The ends of translation. International Joumal of American Linguistics, 20,335-340.
12.
Darkenwald, G.
, & Hayes, E. (1988). Assessment of adult attitudes toward continuing education. International Joumal of Lifelong Education, 7,197-204.
13.
Davis, C.
, Haub, C., & Willette, 3. (1983). U.S. Hispanics: Changing the face of America. Population Bulletin, 38(3), 1-43.
14.
Diaz, P. C. (1989). Life satisfaction and learner self-direction as related to ethnicity in the older adult. (Doctoral dissertation, 1988). Dissetation Abstracts International, S0, 51A.
15.
Estrada, L.
, Garcia, F., Macias, R, & Maldonado, U (1981). Chicanos in the United States: A history of exploitation and resistance. Daedalus, Joumal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 110(2), 103-130.
16.
Fields, C.
(1988). The Hispanic pipeline. Change,20(3), 20-27.
17.
Gough, H. G.
, & DiPalma, G. (1965). Attitudes toward colonialism, political dependence, and independence. The Journal of Psychology, 60,155-163.
18.
Gronlund, N. E.
(1973). Preparing crterion-referenced tests for classroom instruction.New York: Mac-millan.
19.
Hayes, E.
, & Darkenwald, G. G. (1988). Participation in basic education: Deterrents for low-literate adults. Studies in the Education of Adults (U.K), 20(1), 16-28.
20.
Hui, C. H.
(1982). Measurement in cross-cultural psychology: A review and comparison of strategies for empirical research. Unpublished manuscript, University of Illinois.
21.
Hui, C. H.
, & Triandis, H. C. (1983). Multistrategy approach to cross-cultural research. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology,14(1), 65-83.
22.
Hui, C. H.
, & Triandis, H. C. (1985). Quantitative methods in cross-cultural research: Multidimensional scaling and item response theory. In R. Diaz-Guerrero (Ed.), Cross-cultural and national studies in socialpsycholog (pp. 69-79). Amsterdam: North Holland.
23.
Kranau, E. J.
, Green, V., & Valencia-Weber, G. (1982). Acculturation and the Hispanic woman: Attitudes toward women, sex-role attribution, sex-role behavior, and demographics. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 4(1), 21-40.
24.
Larson, M. L.
(1987). Establishing project specific criteria for acceptability of translations. In M. G. Rose (Ed.), American Translators Association Scholarly Monograph Series: Vol 1 Translation excellence: Assessmen,4 achievement maintenance (pp. 69-76). Binghampton, NY: University Center at Binghampton (SUNY).
25.
Liyva, A.
(1987). The perfect translation: Ideal and reality. In M. G. Rose (Ed.), American Translators Association Scholarly Monograph Series: VoL 1 Translation excellence: Assessment, achieve- men4 maintenance (pp. 9-18). Binghampton, NY: University Center at Binghampton (SUNY).
26.
Marin, G.
, Mann, B. V., Perez-Stable, E. J., Sabogal, F., & Otero-Sabogal, R. (1990). Cultural differences in attitudes and expectancies between Hispanic and non-Hispanic white smokers. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 12(4), 422-436.
27.
Marin, G.
, Sabogal, F., Marin, B. V., Otero-Sabogal, R, & Perez-Stable, E. J. (1987). Development of a short acculturation scale for Hispanics. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences,9(2), 183-205.
28.
Ogbu, J.
(1978). Minority education and caste: The American system in cross-cultural perspective.New York: Academic Press.
29.
Olmedo, E. L.
(1981). Testing linguistic minorities. American Psychologist; 36(10), 1078-1085.
30.
Padilla, A. M.
, & Ruiz, R A. (1973). Latino mental health: A review of literature (DHEWPublication NO. HSM 73-9143). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
31.
Peng, S. S.
(1985). High school dropouts: A national concern.Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
32.
Poortinga, Y. H.
(1975). Some implications of three different approaches to intercultural comparison. In J. W. Berry & W. J. Lonner (Eds.), Applied cross-cultural psychology (pp.327-332), Amsterdam: Swets & Zeitlinger.
33.
Prince, R
, & Mombour, W. (1967). A technique for improving linguistic equivalence in cross-cultural surveys. Intemational Journal of Social Psychiatry, 13,229-237.
34.
Rose, M. G.
(1987). Editor's note: What translation excellence entails. In M. G. Rose (Ed.), American Translators Association Scholarly Monograph Series: VoL 1 Translation excellence: Assessment; achievement; maintenance (pp. 1-5). Binghampton, NY: University Center at Bin- ghampton (SUNY).
35.
Ross, J. M.
(1989). Reaching and involving culturally diverse groups. In B. A. Quigley (Ed.), Fulfilling the promise of adult and continuing education (pp. 95-105). New directions for continuing education, No. 44. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
36.
Salamon, M. J.
, & Conte, V. A. (1981). The Salamon-Conte Life Satisfaction in the Elderly Scale and the eight correlates of life satisfaction. Paper presented at the 34th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, Toronto, Ontario.
37.
Schachter, S.
(1954). Interpretative and methodological problems of replicated research. Journal of Social Issues, 10(4), 52-60.
38.
Sechrest, L.
, Fay, T. L., & Zaidi, S. M. (1988). Problems of translation in cross-cultural communication. In L. A. Samovar & R E. Porter (Eds.), Intercultural communication: A reader (5th ed.)(pp. 253-262), Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
39.
Triandis, H.
, Bontempo, R, Leung, K, & Hui, C. H. (1990). A method for determining cultural, demographic, and personal constructs. Joumal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 21(3), 302-318.
40.
Triandis, H., & Davis, E.
(1965). Some methodological problems conceming research on negotiations between monolinguals (Tech. Rep. No. 28). Urbana, IL: Group Effectiveness Research Laboratory.
41.
Velez, W.
(1989). High school attrition among Hispanic and non-Hispanic white youths. Sociology of Education, 62(2), 119-133.
42.
Werner, O.
, & Campbell, D. (1970). Translating, working through interpreters, and the problem of decentering. In R Naroll & R Cohen (Eds.), A handbook of method in cultural anthropology (pp. 398-420). New York: Natural History Press.
43.
Wilson, W.
(1980). Barriers to labor market access: Questions of class, race, and public policy. Adherent: A Journal of Comprehensive Employment Training and Human Resources Developmernt7(3), 68-90.
