Language Choice and Translation in Educational Research: Considerations in Cross-Language Narrative Inquiry

• In Event: 31.092 - Sheraton Roundtable Session Three - Grand Centre
  In Roundtable Session: 31.092-7 - Critical Qualitative Methods and Narrative Ways of Inquiring

Abstract

Cross-language research has become increasingly common in this global era. Translation issues can be very challenging since when and how to translate data may affect the overall trustworthiness of the research. The literature contains recommendations about the processes of translation to be used in qualitative research as a whole, and some researchers have provided a detailed description of their translation procedures. However, guidelines about dealing with translation issues encountered specifically in a narrative inquiry with Mandarin and English as the working languages are rare. Therefore, this study provides an example to illustrate the translation process and considerations behind the translation decisions in a narrative inquiry study where Mandarin was the interview language and the final report was in English.

Author

• Yan Gao, University of Victoria