Bilingual Interviewing

Knowing the Population

Bilingual interviewing presents a number of considerations for the survey researcher. First, survey researchers and clients need to determine which bilingual and non-English populations will be included in the survey. Before the questionnaire is translated into the foreign language(s), it is important to understand the bilingual population the survey will reach. Some bilingual populations have cultural perceptions about survey research that are different from non-bilingual populations. Foreign-born bilingual respondents often are not familiar with the field and practice of survey research, necessitating an easily understood explanation of the purpose of the survey provided by the interviewer at the time of recruitment, thereby increasing the level of trust between the interviewer and respondent.

Interviewer Support

Additionally, bilingual populations may show hesitation in answering particular questions that may not be problematic for non-bilingual populations. For example, many Spanish-speaking respondents tend to routinely hesitate when asked to provide their names and addresses. Each bilingual group may have its own set of questions that are considered “sensitive” when asked by an outsider (i.e. the survey interviewer). Thus the interviewer will need to find ways to minimize respondent hesitation and reluctance in order to continue successfully with the questionnaire. In order to anticipate sensitive questions, the researcher may want to hold focus groups with members of the bilingual population prior to the start of the study. Alterations to wording, improvements to transitions leading into question sequences, clarifying statements, and the addition of proactive persuaders can be useful in minimizing the negative effects of asking sensitive survey questions in languages other than English. The training bilingual interviewers receive thus needs to include attention to all these matters.

The survey researcher also will want to find out how the target population might respond to the survey mode. Some bilingual populations prefer to be interviewed in person, where they can see the facial expressions of the interviewer and pick up on body language. Other bilingual populations are more private and may prefer to be interviewed over the phone. Even though each bilingual population might have its own preference, the client and researchers may choose to use only one mode of data collection across different or mixed ethnic groups. Survey researchers can train bilingual interviewers on techniques to make the bilingual respondent feel comfortable in any type of survey mode.

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