The demand for psychometric assessments is increasing worldwide within many different cultures. Translations into specific languages are required and this is a process that requires careful consideration. Many types of bias can occur when translating and using assessments in different cultures and these need to be addressed accordingly to ensure the validity of an assessment when used across cultures.
Due to increasing popularity of MindMill assessments, MindMill have now developed and contextualised the entire assessment system into Arabic.
This is in line with many recent developments including translating the system into Tamil, Hindi, Tagalog along with previously required languages including French, German and Dutch. The system is now more accessible to individuals around the globe and the technology of the system allows for effective integration of new languages as and when required.
A large variety of end users can now access MindMill assessments and complete this in their native language. Furthermore, large scales studies involving differential item functioning (DIF) are being used to attest and demonstrate the fairness of the test items when completed by candidates from different groups including gender and ethnicity.
DIF can be used to test whether the translation of items are equivalent to the original item. It is important that nothing gets ‘lost in translation’, particularly when translating psychometric assessments, as true abilities may be masked due to incoherent translations or translation differences.
Much deliberation should be taken into account when translating assessments. MindMill ensure the ongoing review of translated assessments to ensure the psychometric properties are being met within the culture and context the assessment is being used in.
By Arlene McGurk