Research Reports
You are here: Census.gov › Subjects A to Z › Research Reports Sorted by Year › Abstract of SSM2009/16
Conveying Translated Informed Consent Concepts: Effects of Language and Culture on Interpretation of Legally Required Messages
Yuling Pan and Ashley Landreth
KEY WORDS: informed consent messages, survey participation, translation, language and cultureABSTRACT
This paper explores the unique and shared communicative difficulties of conveying translated survey informed consent messages observed across ten language groups. We examined results from two cognitive testing projects conducted by the U. S. Census Bureau in 2006 and 2008, with a total of 256 cognitive interviews in ten target languages. Findings suggest that comprehension and interpretation issues for particular informed consent messages were routinely identified. In this paper, we systematically analyzed the types of messages that worked well, that were conceptually difficult to translate effectively, or that failed to convey. We further explored linguistic and socio-cultural barriers for successful communication of these messages and offered strategies to overcome these challenges.CITATION: Pan, Yuling and Ashley Landreth. (2009). Conveying Translated Informed Consent Concepts: Effects of Language and Culture on Interpretation of Legally Required Messages. Statistical Research Division Study Series (Survey Methodology #2009-16). U.S. Census Bureau. Available online at <http://www.census.gov/srd/papers/pdf/ssm2009-16.pdf>.
[PDF] or 
denotes a file in Adobe’s Portable Document Format. To view the file, you will need the Adobe® Reader® 
available free from Adobe.
This symbol indicates a link to a non-government web site. Our linking to these sites does not constitute an endorsement of any products, services or the information found on them. Once you link to another site you are subject to the policies of the new site.
Email Updates
Facebook
Twitter
Flickr
YouTube