Table 3.

Coding framework and definitions

Codes	Definitions
1. Complex word or phrase	Translated word or phrase is changed to replace an inappropriate, technical, complex or difficult to understand word or phrase to improve flow or to make the sentence more easily understood.
2. Cultural	Translated word or phrase is adapted to be more culturally appropriate while maintaining semantic and measurement equivalence with English items.
3. Grammar	Instances when incorrect grammar is detected in the forward translation. For example, incorrect verb tenses or verb forms, or incorrect declension of nouns, pronouns, or adjectives.
4. Idiom/literal meaning	Instances when the English item contains a word or an expression that has a literal meaning that is different from the meaning it intends to convey. e.g., Part 1, Item 1. ‘I feel I have good information about health’, where ‘I feel’ is better translated as ‘I believe’ or ‘I think’.
5. Measurement	Translated word or phrase is altered to better match the strength of the English expression or the measurement distance between English items, while maintaining semantic equivalence with English words and phrases, and cultural appropriateness in the target language.
6. Printed errors (e.g., spelling, punctuation, typographical errors)	Instances when punctuation or typographical errors (including spelling errors) are detected in the forward translation.
7. Semantic	Translated word or phrase is altered to better match the English meaning while maintaining measurement equivalence with English items and cultural appropriateness in the target language.
8. Unit of meaning – Additional	Instances when the translator adds meaning to the translation that was not in the original English.
9. Unit of meaning – Omission	Instances when the translator omits meaning from the translation that was in the original English.
10. Unit of meaning – Substitution	Instances when the translator uses a word or phrase in the translation that is a different meaning from the original English.