Survey Methodology #2003-17 - The American Community Survey (Acs) En Espanol: Using Cognitive Interviews To Test The Functional Equivalency Of Questionnaire Translations - U.s. Bureau Of The Census Page 14
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52or public health care systems. For example, some respondents reported being familiar with the
Mexican “Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social,” also knows as “el Seguro” or “IMSS.” This
Seguro is one of two major national health care systems that operate a chain of hospitals and
health-related services for workers whose employer pays a fee to the IMSS. The Seguro offers
health services (medical, dental, rehab and social services) at no cost to workers and their
dependents. Retired workers who were covered by the Seguro often keep their coverage; and in
some cases may receive a pension.
Several techniques may be explored to overcome the biases associated with pre-existing cultural
frames of reference. In this particular case, one option might be to keep the English proper noun
“Social Security,” which may help respondents realize the question asks about benefits in the
United States. Another option may be to add a short explanation about what Social Security
payments include. This might steer respondents away from interpreting the concept in general
welfare or healthcare terms. A third alternative may be a combination of both suggestions. A
comparative approach should help determine which wording is best understood as intended.
Linguistic Issue #2: No Equivalent Marker
Perhaps the greatest challenge to functionally equivalent questionnaires is lack of equivalent
markers for words or concepts that do not exist in the target language or culture. Thus, the target
language will not have a term to account for the concept being measured. In the United States,
the foster system trains and pays adults to care for children on a temporary basis. Collecting
information about foster children in a bilingual context is quite challenging for linguistic as well
as cultural and semantic reasons.
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