Developing and validating translators’ book selection criteria scale: The case of translators in Iran

Abstract

The present study aimed to develop and validate an instrument to measure Iranian translators’ book selection criteria (TBSC). A mixed-methods approach was adopted to conduct the research. During the qualitative phase, the researchers developed the first draft of the questionnaire by generating items through focus groups and literature review. This led to constructing a 40-item closed-ended questionnaire ranging on a 6-point Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). Participants of both phases were selected by snowball sampling and participated voluntarily in the study. The quantitative approach was used to pilot the web-based questionnaire with 50 participants. To assess the psychometric properties of the final instrument, a sample of 251 translators completed the questionnaire. The revised and modified version of the TBSC scale included 34 items loaded on six subscales, namely general considerations, external motivating factors, success guarantee factors, translator’s authority/agency, internal motivating factors, and finally, publisher’s authority/agency. The study’s findings indicate that the TBSC is a valid and reliable (α = .748) instrument to measure the criteria affecting the translator’s book selection in the context of Iran.