From Meaning to Meaning: The Influence of Translation Techniques on Non-English Focus Group Research

Abstract

Language translation techniques are at the core of many cross-cultural qualitative research projects. The purpose of this article is to examine the impact of translation techniques on the collection and interpretation of non-English to English qualitative data and, in particular, on focus-group data collection and analysis. The goal is to offer suggestions that will minimize potential threats to validity. This article includes a working definition of translation, a discussion of issues related to translation in quantitative research, a discussion of how translation issues differ in focus group research, evaluation criteria for translators and interpreters, and an example of translation techniques used in a research study of perimenopausal Hispanic women.