4.2.

5 Translation of Instrument and Pre-testing

A panel of experts reviewed the original English version of the questionnaire before
pre-testing. According to the reviewers’ comments, the questionnaire was revised and
modified. This version was pre-tested for its clarity and scale reliability on a small
sample of importers in Bangladesh. Based on the pre-test feedback, the wording of
the questionnaire items was slightly modified. To facilitate a quick response, the
questionnaire was translated into Bangla, the native language of the respondents.
While English is widely used in the business community in Bangladesh, the use of
Bangla versions of the questionnaire was expected to ensure clear communication to
respondents. Although conducting studies in a different nation, it was required to
ensure that the translated question was equivalent in both versions (Chang et al.,
1999). The method of translation of questionnaire into Bangla was direct translation
(Brislin, 1970; Malhotra et al., 1996), in which a bilingual qualified business
academic translated the questionnaire directly from the original English language
version of the questionnaire into Bangla. Further, as emphasized in the literature
(Brislin, 1970), a day long meeting was organized by the principal supervisor with a
panel for review of the translated Bangla questionnaire. The panel consisted of the
Md._Abu_Saleh_Thesis 2006
principal supervisor (a native of Bangladesh) and a senior academic in the Faculty of
Business, the University of Queensland (also a native of Bangladesh), the researcher
himself, a native of Bangladesh. The panel discussed better Bangla terminologies and
expressions for each questionnaire item for the finalisation of the translated Bangla
version of the questionnaire for its authenticity. To get more clarity, the draft Bangla
version of the questionnaire was pre-tested in Australia among the business people of
Bangladeshi origin and was revised for better flow in understanding. Further, a pilot
test was done with a small number of sample respondents (importers) in Bangladesh
to refine the measurement instrument before final print and mail-out (Cooper and
Schindler, 2001). The Bangla version of the questionnaire is shown in Appendix 5.

4.2.6 Data Collection Procedure and Response Rate

The self-administered mail survey approach was deemed most appropriate for a
widespread research program (Malhotra, 1993; Zikmund, 2000). The main strengths
of this method are respondent anonymity, confidentiality and free expression and fair
temporal response (Bush and Hair, 1985; Davis, 2000). This also facilitates the
avoidance of inadequate record keeping and helps to generate uniform data from

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