General Concepts
We place great emphasis on developing and creating measures that have
high levels of cultural equivalence so we can compare measures and
results between countries. Several items to consider are:
Conceptual equivalence: Do people attach the same meanings to terms
and concepts? This is critical, because the concepts of activity
types and intensity of activities must be understood in similar ways.
In each country the terms must be defined and explained to get across
the same, or very similar, meanings.
Metric equivalence: Do the numbers mean the same thing? This is not
a major consideration for most items that ask about frequency in
times/week or duration in hours or minutes per session. However, the
intensity levels must be consistent for activities given as examples,
with moderate intensity being activities of 3-6 METs and vigorous
intensity being activities of > 6 METs.
Linguistic equivalence: Do the words and grammar have similar
meanings across different cultures and languages? It is much more
important to translate the meaning of the survey, rather than the
words. Translation procedures must establish that the original and
new surveys mean the same things to different people.
Cultural Adaptation
The
IPAQ survey instruments should not be focused on a single culture or
language. Instead the material should be translated and culturally
adapted so there will be a smooth, natural sounding version in each
language.
IPAQ must have the same interpretation in all
languages.
There are a wide variety of physical activities undertaken by people
throughout the world. In developing countries, occupational
activities and transportation may involve more activity than in more
developed countries. In specific countries or regions, discretionary
or leisure time physical activities may be more prevalent than
occupational or transportation activities. We recommend that you
identify culturally relevant activities in the introductory comments
that are read to the participants about the questions (example, see 1,
3, 5, and 7). However, please retain the intent of the items in terms
of choosing physical activities that represent the appropriate
intensity (light, moderate, and vigorous).
1. Translate and back-translate.
a. Make all translations from the original English version. This is
when you may need to make changes in the words to get across the same
meanings. Some words may need to be changed to match words with a
similar concept in your country (e.g., “vigorous” may not be familiar
in your country, but the term, “very hard” may be understood). For
all items, make sure the underlying concept is retained in
translations. When examples of physical activities are given, you may
want to substitute activities that are more culturally appropriate for
your country or region. In this case, make sure you check the MET
intensities from the Compendium of Physical Activities (http://prevention.sph.sc.edu)
to make sure that vigorous intensity activities are > 6 METs and
moderate intensity activities are 3-6 METs.
b. Have the instrument translated into the second language by at least
two independent translators. Ask them to make the concepts
understandable by people in the second culture. In countries where
there are multiple dialects of the same language, it may be necessary
to have translators who speak the different dialects translate the
survey and agree on the best translation for use in the study.
c.
Have these translations reviewed by a group of bilingual people that
are similar to the intended users. Ask the group to ensure that the
translation will be acceptable to monolingual people.
c. Have two different translators translate the new version back into
English (back translation).
e.
A group of bilingual people meets again to review the
back-translation and decide on the final version. It is most
important that the meanings of the two versions are comparable; the
back-translation does not need to produce the exact original wording.
Pilot test
Pilot
test the translated instrument with a few people from a broad range of
backgrounds who may speak different dialects of the same language
including low and middle education levels or social class. Interview
them as they complete each item. Ask questions such as these:
a. Did you understand all the words?
b. How clear was the intent of the question? (Do you know what is
being asked?)
c. Do you have any questions about it?
d. How could the wording be clearer?
At
the end of the survey, ask more general questions such as these:
a. Did any of the questions make you feel uncomfortable?
b. Were there activities that we missed?
Based on pilot testing, consider if other changes to the instrument
are necessary. Make only changes that do not change the meaning of
the instrument.
Make
note of frequently asked questions.
Develop standard answers to common questions from respondents. Put
your standard answers in a manual and train interviewers in how to
deal with these questions.
Further
Questions
If you
have additional questions regarding translation or cultural adaptation
please email the IPAQ Committee using
Barbara E. Ainsworth
References
Geisinger KF. Cross-cultural normative assessment: Translation and
adaptation issues influencing the normative interpretation of
assessment instruments. Psychological Assessment 1994, 6, 304-312.
Sperber AD, Devellis RF, Boehlecke B. Cross-cultural translation:
Methodology and validation. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 1994,
25, 501-524.
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