SAGE Journal Articles
No Abstract
Abstract
Evaluation researchers frequently obtain self-reports of behaviors, asking program participants to report on process and outcome-relevant behaviors. Unfortunately, reporting on one's behavior poses a difficult cognitive task, and participants' reports can be profoundly influenced by question wording, format, and context. We review the steps involved in answering a question about one's behavior and highlight the underlying cognitive and communicative processes. We alert researchers to what can go wrong and provide theoretically grounded recommendations for pilot testing and questionnaire construction.
Abstract
This article reports research on procedures for translating a survey questionnaire on tobacco use from English into Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese. The goal is to offer practical guidelines for researchers involved in translating questionnaires. The authors operationalize a five-step process for translation and evaluation based on the frameworks presented in Harkness, Van de Vijver, and Mohler (2003) and the U.S. Census Bureau (2004). Based on qualitative observations, the five-step process produced effective questionnaire translations. The iterative nature of the process and the team-based approach the process encourages were particularly important to the success. Based on documented experiences, the authors identify lessons learned and make recommendations to other researchers who need to translate questionnaires.