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Translating questionnaire items for a multi-lingual worker population: the iterative process of translation and cognitive interviews with English-, Spanish-, and Chinese-speaking workers.

Authors
Fujishiro K; Gong F; Baron S; Jacobson CJ Jr.; DeLaney S; Flynn M; Eggerth DE
Source
Am J Ind Med 2010 Feb; 53(2):194-203
Link
https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.20733
NIOSHTIC No.
20036340
Abstract
Background: The increasing ethnic diversity of the US workforce has created a need for research tools that can be used with multi-lingual worker populations. Developing multi-language questionnaire items is a complex process; however, very little has been documented in the literature. Methods: Commonly used English items from the Job Content Questionnaire and Quality of Work Life Questionnaire were translated by two interdisciplinary bilingual teams and cognitively tested in interviews with English-, Spanish-, and Chinese-speaking workers. Results: Common problems across languages mainly concerned response format. Language-specific problems required more conceptual than literal translations. Some items were better understood by non-English speakers than by English speakers. De-centering (i.e., modifying the English original to correspond with translation) produced better understanding for one item. Conclusions: Translating questionnaire items and achieving equivalence across languages require various kinds of expertise. Backward translation itself is not sufficient. More research efforts should be concentrated on qualitative approaches to developing useful research tools.
Keywords
Questionnaires; Work-environment; Work-organization; Author Keywords: immigrant workers; homecare; cognitive interview; translation; questionnaire development; qualitative analysis
Contact
Kaori Fujishiro, Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluation, and Field Studies (DSHEFS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), 4676 Columbia Parkway (R-17), Cincinnati, OH 45226
CODEN
AJIMD8
Publication Date
20100201
Document Type
Journal Article
Email Address
kfujishiro@cdc.gov
Fiscal Year
2010
Issue of Publication
2
ISSN
0271-3586
NIOSH Division
DSHEFS; EID
Priority Area
Manufacturing; Construction
Source Name
American Journal of Industrial Medicine
State
OH
Page last reviewed: October 26, 2020
Content source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Education and Information Division