Category: Blog
When Respondents Answer Correctly And The Data Is Still Wrong
19th February 2026
In international research, a dangerous assumption often goes unchallenged: if respondents understand the question, the data must be reliable. This assumption is wrong. Understanding a question is not the same as answering it in a way that is culturally, socially or linguistically equivalent to respondents elsewhere. Respondents frequently answer correctly, yet the data still misleads…. Read more »
Why Global Research Needs Translators, Not Just Translation
16th February 2026
In global research, translation is often treated as a technical step, something that happens after the thinking is done. Words are converted, questions are aligned and the project moves on. But this assumption quietly ignores a fundamental truth: Translation moves words. Translators move meaning. And in research, meaning is the asset. The illusion of equivalence… Read more »
Why “Neutral” Is Not Neutral Everywhere
12th February 2026
In many surveys, neutral is treated as the safest response. It sits calmly between agreement and disagreement, offering respondents a way to remain balanced, thoughtful and objective. In English-language research, it is often interpreted as genuine ambivalence. Internationally, however, neutral rarely means the same thing everywhere. Neutral as Caution, Not Balance Across cultures, a neutral… Read more »
Why “Yes” Does Not Mean Yes in International Research
10th February 2026
In English-language research, “yes” is treated as a clear signal. Agreement. Confirmation. Acceptance. In international research, however, yes is often doing far more social work than analytical work, and that can quietly distort insight. Yes as Politeness, Not Agreement Across many cultures, saying “yes” can function as: politeness rather than consent, acknowledgement rather than endorsement,… Read more »
The Languages That Refuse to Talk About the Future
4th February 2026
In English, the future is everywhere. We plan it, predict it, optimise it. Our language assumes that what will happen is something we can describe, shape and prepare for. But not all languages are so willing to talk about the future at all. When the Future Is Linguistically Distant Some languages do not grammatically separate… Read more »
Why Silence Is One of the Hardest Things to Translate
2nd February 2026
In research, silence is often treated as absence: a pause to be filled, a gap to be clarified, a failure to respond. In reality, silence is frequently doing the work. Across languages and cultures, silence can signal thoughtfulness, disagreement, politeness, uncertainty, respect – or refusal. Translating words is straightforward by comparison. Translating silence is not…. Read more »
Why Good Research Questions Sound Strange in Other Languages
28th January 2026
A research question that works perfectly in English can sound oddly shaped, overly blunt or quietly confusing once translated into another language. Not because the translation is wrong but because good questions are culturally designed, not linguistically neutral. What Makes a Question “Good” Is Not Universal In English-language research traditions, good questions are often: direct,… Read more »
Why People Answer the Wrong Question Even When They Understand the Language
27th January 2026
In research, misunderstanding is often blamed on poor translation, low respondent engagement or cultural distance. Yet one of the most persistent causes of distorted insight is far subtler: people frequently answer the wrong question, even when they fully understand the words. This is not carelessness. It is human cognition at work. Understanding the Words Is… Read more »
The Languages That Have No Word for “Why”, And How People Ask Questions Without It
21st January 2026
In English, why is one of the first tools we reach for. Why did this happen? Why did you choose that? Why does it matter? We often treat it as essential to curiosity, explanation and understanding. Yet, intriguingly, not all languages rely on a direct equivalent of why – and some avoid it altogether. This… Read more »
When a Sector Pauses to Reflect, Language Matters More Than Ever
19th January 2026
In March 2026, the Market Research Society’s Annual Conference returns ,not only as a showcase of world-class thinking but as a moment of reflection. Eighty years is a long time for any sector. Long enough to have reinvented itself multiple times. Long enough to have seen methods, technologies and assumptions rise, fall, and re-emerge in… Read more »
