Cross-cultural surveys are increasingly being set up in numerous disciplines and around the globe. They allow testing for the generality of hypotheses across cultures and systematic research into institutional and other contextual differences. While it is essential to have a sound knowledge of survey methodology in general when setting up these surveys, there are additional methodological aspects to take into account in order to collect cross-culturally comparable data. This short course focuses on what it means to develop and, in particular, translate questionnaires for use in comparative research. It will cover: general aspects of cross-cultural surveys and the position and role of questionnaire translation within the overall survey context; source questionnaire elements that impede comparability and smooth translation; procedures for designing culturally relevant and %E2%80%9Ctranslatable%E2%80%9D source questionnaires; requirements of good questionnaire translation, and best practice in questionnaire translation and translation assessment. The course will be a mixture between lectures, short practical exercises and discussions.

Course leader
Dr. Dorothe Behr

Target group
Participants will find the course useful if:- they conduct their own (PhD) cross-cultural survey project;- are members of staff (researcher, translator, translation manager) in a larger cross-cultural survey project;- need to write a project proposal for a cross-cultural survey project;- want to learn about the importance of good questionnaire design and translation processes for comparability of survey data.

Course aim
By the end of the course participants will:- be aware of cross-cultural requirements during source questionnaire design to ensure comparability;- be familiar with best practice in carrying out questionnaire translation and assessment;- be able to better account for the needs of cross-cultural questionnaire design and translation in project proposals.Prerequisites:- interest in the impact of linguistic and cultural aspects on cross-cultural survey research;- knowledge of at least one language besides English to be able to benefit from practical exercises;- knowledge of general questionnaire design principles is desirable.

Fee info
EUR 100: Student/PhD student rate. EUR 140: Academic/non-profit rate.The rates includes the tuition fee, course materials, access to library and IT facilities and coffee/tea.

GESIS-Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences
Address: Knowledge Transfer, Unter Sachsenhausen 6-8 Cologne
Postal code: 50667
City: Cologne
Country: Germany
Website: http://www.gesis.org/summerschool
E-mail: summerschool@gesis.org
Phone: +49-221-476940