Abstract
Environmental research with diverse stakeholders poses challenges for researchers, particularly when that research is also cross-cultural and/or cross-language. We argue that cross-cultural and/or cross-language environmental research requires translators and interpreters as active research partners, culture brokers and community partners to support research accountability and engagement, and that face-to-face surveys address challenges of other survey modes in cross-language and/or cross-cultural research. Drawing upon cross-cultural and cross-language environmental research with Vietnamese–American fishers on the U.S. Gulf Coast, we find that face-to-face surveys may promote response rate and allow for clarification, particularly for participants with language and cultural barriers. Translators, interpreters, culture brokers, and community partners play a critical role in cross-language and cross-cultural research and researchers must reflect on their role shaping research.
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Notes
The interviewer-training manual is available upon request.
Immigration scholars often refer to individuals as “1.5 generation” immigrants when an individual is foreign born but immigrated to their country of residence during childhood (Zúñiga 2018).
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Acknowledgements
We thank our research collaborators and partners, especially the translators and survey administrators who have provided invaluable support: Thao Vu, Tu Hoang, Tuan Do, Long Li, Lydiah Vi, Han Pham, Quok Phan, and Nhat Nguyen. We would also like to thank our community partners Boat People SOS, Coastal Community Consulting and Sandy Nguyen, and the Mississippi Coalition for Vietnamese American Fisherfolk and Families, as well as all of the staff at Louisana and Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant. This project received funding under award NA15NMF4270343 from NOAA Fisheries Service, in cooperation with the Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Program. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of NOAA Fisheries. This publication was made possible through the support provided by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce/NOAA through the University of Southern Mississippi under the terms of the Agreement No. USM-GR05007-R/SFA-04-PD. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Dept. of Commerce/NOAA of the University of Southern Mississippi.
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Schewe, R.L., Hoffman, D., Witt, J. et al. Cross-Cultural Environmental Research: Lessons from the Field. Environmental Management 70, 241–253 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-022-01660-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-022-01660-5