Cross-Cultural Survey Guidelines
(CCSG) workshop
Dublin, Feb. 2012
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
www.bournemouth.ac.uk
Comparative
research
Comparative studies
•
•
Cross-national research helps one to look at
problems from a different angle, questioning
current practice, warn against side effects, etc.
I.e. there exist ways of doing things which have
not been considered in the UK (or Germany or
Finland or …..) .
Cognitive psychology recognises that cognition
is a situated process and that knowledge is a
collaborative, culture-bounded effort.
www.bournemouth.ac.uk
Cross-Cultural Survey Guidelines
Guidelines are part of Comparative Survey Design &
Implementation (CSDI) Guidelines Initiative.
Initiative promotes internationally recognized guidelines that
highlight best practice for the conduct of comparative
survey research across cultures and countries.
Designed for researchers planning or engaged in crosscultural or cross-national research.
http://ccsg.isr.umich.edu/index.cfm
www.bournemouth.ac.uk
Starter question
What makes a good quantitative
survey? What are the
characteristics of well designed
and implemented survey?
• How do student midwives in
Ireland see the job market in their
field developing over the coming
five years?
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A good survey consists of:
•
•
•
•
.….
…..
…..
…..
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Overview 15 chapters CCSG
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
Study, Organizational, and Operational Structure
Survey Quality
Ethical Considerations in Surveys
Tenders, Bids, and Contracts
Sample Design
Questionnaire Design
Adaptation of Survey Instruments
Translation
Instrument Technical Design
Interviewer Recruitment, Selection, and Training
Pretesting
Data Collection
Data Harmonization
Data Processing and Statistical Adjustment
Data Dissemination
www.bournemouth.ac.uk
CCSG Glossary
(as specifically relevant today
Adaptation
• Changing existing materials (e.g., management plans,
contracts, training manuals, questionnaires, etc.) by
deliberately altering some content or design
component to make the resulting materials more
suitable for another socio-cultural context or a
particular population.
Coordinating centre
• A research centre that facilitates and organises crosscultural or multi-site research activities.
www.bournemouth.ac.uk
Overview 15 chapters CCSG
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
Study, Organizational, and Operational Structure
Survey Quality
Ethical Considerations in Surveys
Tenders, Bids, and Contracts
Sample Design
Questionnaire Design
Adaptation of Survey Instruments
Translation
Instrument Technical Design
Interviewer Recruitment, Selection, and Training
Pretesting
Data Collection
Data Harmonization
Data Processing and Statistical Adjustment
Data Dissemination
www.bournemouth.ac.uk
CCSG: Survey Lifecycle
www.bournemouth.ac.uk
First 9 chapters CCSG
1.
Study, Organizational, and Operational Structure
2.
Survey Quality
3.
Ethical Considerations in Surveys
4.
Tenders, Bids, and Contracts
5.
Sample Design
6.
Questionnaire Design
7.
Adaptation of Survey Instruments
8.
Translation
9.
Instrument Technical Design
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Shaping a Network of
Local Researchers
COST brings together midwifery/maternity care
researchers from a range of different
academic disciplines working across Europe.
To conduct a cross-national survey there has to
be a balance between (a) standardisation of
implementation and (b) adaptation of the
cultural context.
This needs ‘leadership’/coordinating centre.
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Guidelines: leadership
To establish study's overall
structure & locus of control at all
levels and across all aspects of
study's design &
implementation, and to
communicate this structure to
each participating country's
survey organization.
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II. Survey Quality
http://ccsg.isr.umich.edu/quality.cfm
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II. Survey Quality
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Sampling frames
• As maternity services, health
systems and the was populations
are registered varies across
countries we may have to deal
with different sampling frames
across COST countries.
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8 Translation
Translation is :
A. Language;
B. Culture;
C. Context & system (related).
Starting point cross-national
survey? Translate from Dutch
into German / French / English.
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8 Translation / language
A. Language
Words have ‘meaning’ which
needs to be translated.
Translations from English into
other European languages
take more space.
Miles & lbs & pints………
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8 Translation / Culture
B. Culture
Will we have a questionnaire in
German?
Or
A German questionnaire, a
Swiss questionnaire and an
Austrian questionnaire?
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8 Translation / Culture
B. Culture
Will we have a questionnaire in
minority languages such as
Hindi, Urdu, Turkish, etc.
and use same questionnaire
in Hindi different European
countries?
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8 Translation / Culture
B. Culture
Some colours and numbers
have special significance in
some cultures so should
perhaps be avoided answers
to multiple choice questions.
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8 Translation / context
C. Context
• ‘Private health services’ means
something different in a state
health service system such as
in the UK than in a healthinsurance system such as the
Netherlands or Germany.
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Problematising Terminology
Comparing like with like?
• Trained nurse-midwife
• Direct-entry midwife (NB: UK vs US meaning)
• Midwifery assistant / maternity care assistant
• Maternity benefits
• Economic migrant
• etc.
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11. Pretesting
•
•
•
•
•
•
Test instrument
Test research protocol
Training researcher/ Education
Collect preliminary data
Impress (potential) funders
Help calculate sample size
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Reasons for pilot studies
Test instrument:
• test questions;
• test possible answers for multiple
choice questions;
• test order of questions;
• test colour of paper;
• etc.
• etc.
www.bournemouth.ac.uk
Reasons for pilot studies
Test research protocol:
• test way of questionnaire
distribution
• test process of returning them to
you
• test intervening factors (gate
keepers, etc.)
• try out different incentives to
increase response rates
www.bournemouth.ac.uk
Reasons for pilot studies
Training researcher/ Education:
• Project as part of training/ degree
• Train new researcher on a study
• Train researcher in new technique
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Ethics committees
Glasziou & Chalmers (2004) found that
piloting of leaflet aimed at elderly to
improve GP consultations needed
ethical review, in Belgium, Slovenia
and UK, but not in Austria, France,
Germany and Switzerland, whilst UK
has one of most complicated ethical
processes (Hearnshaw 2004).
www.bournemouth.ac.uk
Ethics committees
• What if ethics committee in the UK
does not think question 17 in the
questionnaire is appropriate, but
ethics committee in Belgium and in
xxxx has accepted the
questionnaire as it stands?
• What do we do?
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Balance
Uniformity
Balance between the need to keep survey
as uniform as possible to be able to make
cross-national comparisons AND the need
to be as sensitive as possible to the local
context, culture & health system!
www.bournemouth.ac.uk
Context & cultural
sensitivity
References
Glasziou P, Chalmers I (2004) Ethics review roulette: What can we learn? Brit Med J, 328:
121-122.
Hearnshaw H (2004) Comparisons of requirements of research ethics committees in 11
European countries for a non-invasive interventional study. Brit Med J, 328: 140-141.
Survey Research Center. (2010). Guidelines for Best Practice in Cross-Cultural Surveys.
Ann Arbor, MI: Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of
Michigan. Retrieved Feb. 2012 from http://www.ccsg.isr.umich.edu/
van Teijlingen ER, Sandall J, Wrede S, Benoit C, DeVries R, Bourgeault I. (2003)
Comparative studies in maternity care RCM Midwives J 6: 338-40.
Peat J et al. (2002), Health Science Research: A Handbook of Quantitative Methods,
London: Sage.
Teijlingen van, E., Hundley, V. (2001) The importance of pilot studies, Social Research
Update Issue 35, http://www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/sru/SRU35.html
www.bournemouth.ac.uk
www.bournemouth.ac.uk
Thank you!
Edwin van Teijlingen
www.bournemouth.ac.uk