Another Person in the Room

Using Interpreters During Interviews With Immigrant Workers

Bibliographic Data

ID4722971
AuthorsAgnieszka Kosny (0000-0002-8730-559X, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), Ellen Maceachen (0000-0001-6477-7650, Institute for Work & Health, Toronto, Canada), Marni Lifshen (Institute for Work & Health, Toronto, Canada), Peter M Smith (0000-0001-8286-4563, Monash University), Peter Smith (0000-0003-0058-7588), Peter A Smith (0000-0002-4487-0441, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia)
Year2014
Volume24
Issue6
Pages837-845
Publication date2014-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueQualitative Health Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1049-7323 • E-ISSN: 1552-7557
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1049732314535666
PMID24823318
OpenAlexW2104134378
LanguageEN
Citations received16
References cited21

Cross-language research poses many challenges. When researchers and participants do not speak the same language, meanings expressed by participants might not be understood in the same way by researchers, and the richness of participants' experiences might be lost. This can lead to the misrepresentation and silencing of issues faced by these participants, especially newcomers. In this article, we critically examine our experience conducting qualitative interviews with injured immigrant workers with the help of professional interpreters. Using examples from our field notes and transcripts, we outline some of the key difficulties we faced: varying styles of interpretation, breeches of interview conventions, and miscommunications with interpreters. We discuss how these issues affected our study design, rapport with participants and, ultimately, data quality. We end with a discussion of how to improve cross-language and cross-cultural research

Interpreting and Communication in Healthcare · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology