Abstract
One of the core components of the TRAPD (Translation, Review, Adjudication, Pretesting and Documentation) team approach to translation in survey research is pretesting. Cognitive interviewing is increasingly being used for pretesting survey questionnaires adapted to different populations. Exploring the issue of question sensitivity is particularly relevant when adapting a questionnaire to a population different than the one for which it was designed. However, little guidance exists on the use of cognitive interviewing, and specifically, the types of verbal probes, to elicit respondent feedback on question sensitivity. In preparation for the Saudi National Mental Health Survey, cognitive interviewing was carried out to pretest the Arabic version of the World Mental Health survey instrument (CIDI 3.0). Different types of cognitive probes: proactive direct, proactive indirect and general probes were randomly assigned to survey questions to investigate differences in the feedback elicited by each type of probe. Findings suggest that different types of cognitive probes that are designed to explore perceived sensitivity of the survey questions elicit different amounts and types of feedback. An indirect cognitive probe identified a topic to be sensitive in more instances than a direct probe or a general probe. A general probe, on the other hand, elicited more non-codable feedback especially when paired with a survey question that asks about a more abstract concept such as the respondent’s feelings.
Highlights
When survey research requires content to be rendered in another language, a team approach known as TRAPD (Harkness, Villar, & Edwards, 2010) is recommended
Asking respondents a general probe produced lengthier responses than the proactive direct and proactive indirect probe; 29% vs. 19% vs. 16% of the probes respectively, elicited respondent feedback that is longer than a sentence
Testing translated survey questions in the target population before field administration is a critical component of the TRAPD translation approach
Summary
When survey research requires content to be rendered in another language, a team approach known as TRAPD (translation, review, adjudication, pretesting and documentation) (Harkness, Villar, & Edwards, 2010) is recommended. One important aspect is the level of perceived sensitivity of the survey questions. Both Lee (1993) and Barnett (1998) emphasize the contextual nature of question sensitivity and the importance of understanding how survey respondents think about sensitivity. Barnett (1998) goes on to recommend that the level of perceived question sensitivity be established prior to the study and during pilot work. One of the most powerful tools for pretesting translated survey instruments is cognitive interviewing (Goerman, 2006; Harkness et al, 2003; Potaka & Cochrane, 2004). One of the most powerful tools for pretesting translated survey instruments is cognitive interviewing (Goerman, 2006; Harkness et al, 2003; Potaka & Cochrane, 2004). Beatty (2004) defines cognitive interviewing as:
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: The International Journal of Translation and Interpreting Research
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
