Cross-cultural adaptation and online administration format of self-report measures – methodological challenges and implications

Abstract

With globalization and the formation of European Union, studies aiming to explore cross-cultural phenomena have been gaining increasing relevance in social sciences. The growing number of multinational research projects has been showing their complexity, where cultural and linguistic differences stand as prominent, along with issues as equivalence, generalisation, and construct validity. The nature of assessment instruments and their mode of presentation and administration have proven to be key topics as well. In this presentation, we intend to discuss the process of cultural adaptation and translation of the International Self-Report Delinquency (ISRD-3) questionnaire from English to Portuguese, analysing different guidelines recommended for cross-cultural adaptation of self-report measures. Additionally, we will bring to the centre of discussion the challenges of online administration, and resulting limitations regarding comparisons both with previous data (ISRD-2), collected using the traditional paper-and-pencil format, and other results obtained through different modes of questionnaire administration.