Providing English and native language quotes in qualitative research: A call to action

Abstract

Background: When publishing qualitative research in international journals, researchers studying non-English-speaking participants provide quotes in English language. This is an issue of increasing concern given the need to be rigorous to represent a diversity of participants within their context, beyond how language (alone) situates them. Aim: To argue for providing English and native language quotes in qualitative research reports. Design: Discussion. Methods: This paper is based on the literature on use of quotes and translation in qualitative research and authors’ experiences of publishing qualitative research. Results: Provision of native and English language quotes may allow for greater transparency of findings, thereby reflecting that the researchers adequately captured the socially and culturally dependent experiences of participants. Conclusions: Presentation of findings with eloquent quotes serves as the gateway into the sociocultural experiences of individuals. We argued against the norm of providing translated quotes in qualitative reports and build a case for the provision of native as well as English language quotes to promote cross-cultural understanding.