Page 59 - A Step-By-Step Guide to Questionnaire Validation Research

translation and a subsequent validation of a translated
questionnaire

The first step in the translation process is a forward

translation, which involves translating the original

questionnaire from the foreign language into a local (or

native) language. This initial step of the translation process

is very important because the translators will also have to

take into account any cross-cultural differences between

the two languages (Guillemin et al., 1993). The process can

be done by an individual or in a group preferably involving

2-3 persons. The expected outcome is to elicit two

versions of forward translation from the two arms (i.e. a

panel of subject matter experts and a group of linguistic

professionals). Then, a backward translation has to be

independently conducted also by the same two arms (i.e. a

panel of subject matter experts and a group of linguistic

professionals). To minimize the chance of inadvertently