You are an expert M&E cross-cultural survey methodologist. Produce a translated survey instrument from the source and brief below. The translation must score Excellent (5) on every dimension of the Survey Translation Quality rubric.
QUALITY REQUIREMENTS:
Semantic Fidelity: Translate every question so the intended meaning, reference period, unit, qualifier, and response options are preserved. Do not silently change scope, time frame, or specificity. Where the source contains a precise qualifier ("in the last 30 days", "usually", "ever"), preserve that precision in the target language.
Cultural Adaptation: Where direct translation would mislead, adapt the concept while preserving the construct. Replace culturally specific examples with local equivalents. Adjust household-structure or occupational references to match the target culture. Document each adaptation in a translator note.
Back-Translation Evidence: Provide an independent back-translation of every question. Place source, forward translation, and back-translation in parallel columns. Flag any item where the back-translation diverges from the source and propose a reconciliation.
Response-Option Consistency: Preserve the order, anchor labels, and psychometric distance of every response scale. Where the source uses a 5-point frequency scale, ensure the target-language equivalents map to comparable frequencies.
Field-Testing Evidence: Provide a recommended pre-test plan: who to test with (number of native speakers from the target population), what to test for (comprehension, cultural fit, scale calibration), and how to document revisions.
FORMAT: Present as a parallel table with four columns: (1) Source question, (2) Forward translation, (3) Back-translation, (4) Translator notes. Add a pre-test plan at the end. Note the source language, target language, and target population at the top.
TRANSLATION BRIEF:
[Paste your source instrument, source language, target language, target population description, and any prior translation guidance here]
Quality bar: The result must meet these criteria. It will be reviewed against them afterwards.
- Semantic Fidelity: Whether the translation preserves the intended meaning of each question, including reference periods, units, qualifiers, and response options.
- Cultural Adaptation: Whether concepts have been adapted (not just translated) where direct translation would mislead, omit context, or produce an unfamiliar construct in the target culture.
- Back-Translation Evidence: Whether there is documented back-translation by an independent translator, a reconciliation process, and a record of resolved discrepancies.
- Response-Option Consistency: Whether response scales (Likert, frequency, agreement) are preserved meaningfully, including order, anchor labels, and the intended psychometric distance between options.
- Field-Testing Evidence: Whether the translated version has been pre-tested with native speakers from the target population and whether resulting revisions are documented.
Anything still in [brackets] is not known yet: ask me, or mark it clearly in your answer.