Language translation challenges with Arabic speakers participating in qualitative research studies Rasmieh Al-Amer a, *, Lucie Ramjan a , Paul Glew a , Maram Darwish b,c , Yenna Salamonson a a School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia b School of Medicine, Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan c Department of General Surgery, Jordanian Royal Medical Services, Amman, Jordan What is already known about the topic?  The translation process can impact on the trustworthi- ness of qualitative data.  Methodological recommendations for the use of trans- lators in cross-language research have been established.  In health research, if methodological challenges in cross- language research were thoroughly addressed, better International Journal of Nursing Studies xxx (2015) xxx–xxx A R T I C L E I N F O Keywords: Arabic Cross-cultural Cross-language Qualitative research Translation A B S T R A C T This paper discusses how a research team negotiated the challenges of language differences in a qualitative study that involved two languages. The lead researcher shared the participants’ language and culture, and the interviews were conducted using the Arabic language as a source language, which was then translated and disseminated in the English language (target language). The challenges in relation to translation in cross- cultural research were highlighted from a perspective of establishing meaning as a vital issue in qualitative research. The paper draws on insights gained from a study undertaken among Arabic-speaking participants involving the use of in-depth semi-structured interviews. The study was undertaken using a purposive sample of 15 participants with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and co-existing depression and explored their perception of self- care management behaviours. Data analysis was performed in two phases. The first phase entailed translation and transcription of the data, and the second phase entailed thematic analysis of the data to develop categories and themes. In this paper there is discussion on the translation process and its inherent challenges. As translation is an interpretive process and not merely a direct message transfer from a source language to a target language, translators need to systematically and accurately capture the full meaning of the spoken language. This discussion paper highlights difficulties in the translation process, specifically in managing data in relation to metaphors, medical terminology and connotation of the text, and importantly, preserving the meaning between the original and translated data. Recommendations for future qualitative studies involving interviews with non-English speaking participants are outlined, which may assist researchers maintain the integrity of the data throughout the translation process. ß 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd. * Corresponding author at: School of Nursing and Midwifery, Univer- sity of Western Sydney, Building 17, Room 17.01.02, Campbelltown Campus, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC, NSW 2751, Australia. Tel.: +61 406176879. E-mail addresses: r.al-amer@uws.edu.au (R. Al-Amer), l.ramjan@uws.edu.au (L. Ramjan), p.glew@uws.edu.au (P. Glew), mdarwish88@hotmail.com (M. Darwish), y.salamonson@uws.edu.au (Y. Salamonson). G Model NS-2554; No. of Pages 8 Please cite this article in press as: Al-Amer, R., et al., Language translation challenges with Arabic speakers participating in qualitative research studies. Int. J. Nurs. Stud. (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2015.04.010 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Nursing Studies journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/ijns http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2015.04.010 0020-7489/ß 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.