{"id":37720,"date":"2021-05-24T17:05:49","date_gmt":"2021-05-24T11:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720"},"modified":"2025-11-25T15:10:38","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T09:40:38","slug":"trying-to-reach-a-global-audience-tips-to-make-your-research-summaries-easy-to-translate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/trying-to-reach-a-global-audience-tips-to-make-your-research-summaries-easy-to-translate","title":{"rendered":"Trying to Reach a Global Audience? Tips to Make Your Research Summaries Easy to Translate"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In a previous post, we talked about how plain language summaries (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.impact.science\/blog\/is-your-society-trying-to-increase-diversity-and-inclusion-heres-a-simple-tool\/\">PLS<\/a>\u00a0or Lay summaries) of research papers are valuable for making the research findings accessible to diverse population groups. But what if the research is needed by those with little or no command of English?<\/p>\n<p>Providing professionally translated versions is one alternative, but costs and resources restrict the number of translations a Society or publisher can offer. A workaround is to craft PLS(Lay summary) that can be translated by readers with the help of free online tools.<\/p>\n<p>To draft PLS(Lay summary), keep in mind the following:<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Avoid noun stacks<\/h4>\n<p>Strings of nouns make text difficult to read in English itself, and lead to meaning changes or loss during translation. For instance, \u201cUnderweight adolescent sickle cell anemia treatment protocol\u201d should be \u201ctreatment protocol for underweight adolescents with sickle cell anemia.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Don\u2019t omit relative pronouns<\/h4>\n<p>Retain relative pronouns like \u201cwhich\u201d and \u201cthat\u201d to make the text easier to translate. An automatic translator might not be able to quickly identify the main verb in \u201cThe data we obtained was stored securely\u201d; a better option would be \u201cThe data that we obtained was stored securely.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Choose terms carefully<\/h4>\n<p>A term like \u201chealth visitor\u201d is widely known in the UK but could be confusing even in other English-speaking countries. It\u2019s better to use a term that can be translated more accurately, such as \u201cpublic health worker.\u201d Similarly, \u201cA&amp;E\u201d is not commonly used outside the US; \u201cemergency department\u201d is a more accessible option. Further, you may need to briefly describe or define terms that could have different meanings and implications across cultures. \u201cMidwives\u201d in India or Bangladesh may not be professionally qualified like their counterparts in New Zealand or the Netherlands. Finally, try to not use medical terms that already have different meanings in common English.<\/p>\n<p>Avoid: \u201cNurses took history of blood transfusions.\u201d<br \/>\nUse: \u201cNurses asked patients about previous blood transfusions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Avoid: \u201cWe followed participants for two months.\u201d<br \/>\nUse: \u201cWe monitored participants for two months.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Structure sentences simply<\/h4>\n<p>When sentences have multiple clauses or convoluted structure, they are more likely to be misinterpreted. Use the \u201csubject-verb-object\u201d structure as much as possible, and keep sentences short. Use the active voice, and try to make sure that every sentence has a subject. \u201cUsing the WHOQOL-BREF, participants were categorized into three groups\u201d makes it difficult for a non-native speaker to gauge who was using the WHOQOL-BREF. A better option would be \u201cWe used the WHOQOL-BREF to categorize participants into three groups.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Avoid ambiguity<\/h4>\n<p>Use the same word for the same concept each time it\u2019s mentioned in the PLS (don\u2019t use \u201csubjects,\u201d \u201cparticipants,\u201d and \u201cindividuals\u201d to refer to the same set of people). Unclear pronoun references (e.g., \u201cit is necessary that\u201d) make the PLS(Lay summary) not only ambiguous but also wordy. Items in a list should be separated using Arabic numbers as far as possible, since punctuation rules and the order of the alphabet differ across languages.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, the above tips aren\u2019t fool proof, and there\u2019s no substitute for a competent human translator. However, following these tips will lead to PLS(Lay summaries) that are easier to process for not just non-native speakers but also native English speakers. Ultimately, research is meant for a global audience, and PLS(Lay summaries) that are easily translatable can improve research accessibility and reach.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a previous post, we talked about how plain language summaries (PLS\u00a0or Lay summaries) of research papers are valuable for making the research findings accessible to diverse population groups. But what if the research is needed by those with little or no command of English? Providing professionally translated versions is one alternative, but costs and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":33313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5889],"tags":[],"new_categories":[],"new_tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-37720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-media-and-tools-for-science-communication"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Trying to Reach a Global Audience? Tips to Make Your Research Summaries Easy to Translate | Editage Insights<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trying to Reach a Global Audience? Tips to Make Your Research Summaries Easy to Translate | Editage Insights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a previous post, we talked about how plain language summaries (PLS\u00a0or Lay summaries) of research papers are valuable for making the research findings accessible to diverse population groups. But what if the research is needed by those with little or no command of English? Providing professionally translated versions is one alternative, but costs and [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Editage Insights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Editage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-05-24T11:35:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-25T09:40:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Marisha Fonseca\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Editage\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Editage\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Marisha Fonseca\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Marisha Fonseca\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/person\/d7c4142919456ea4250396c49fe1f777\"},\"headline\":\"Trying to Reach a Global Audience? Tips to Make Your Research Summaries Easy to Translate\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-05-24T11:35:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-25T09:40:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720\"},\"wordCount\":579,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/editage-insights-generic-banner_298.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"New Media\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720\",\"name\":\"Trying to Reach a Global Audience? Tips to Make Your Research Summaries Easy to Translate | Editage Insights\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/editage-insights-generic-banner_298.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-05-24T11:35:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-25T09:40:38+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/editage-insights-generic-banner_298.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/editage-insights-generic-banner_298.webp\",\"width\":656,\"height\":336},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Trying to Reach a Global Audience? Tips to Make Your Research Summaries Easy to Translate\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/\",\"name\":\"Editage Insights\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Editage Insights\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/editage-insights-logo-1-scaled.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/editage-insights-logo-1-scaled.webp\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":324,\"caption\":\"Editage Insights\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Editage\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Editage\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/person\/d7c4142919456ea4250396c49fe1f777\",\"name\":\"Marisha Fonseca\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f20e869af960f8daf3a3b638794b78e3f2e363b4604e2b916f9349e07bb3c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f20e869af960f8daf3a3b638794b78e3f2e363b4604e2b916f9349e07bb3c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Marisha Fonseca\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/marisha-fonseca\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Trying to Reach a Global Audience? Tips to Make Your Research Summaries Easy to Translate | Editage Insights","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Trying to Reach a Global Audience? Tips to Make Your Research Summaries Easy to Translate | Editage Insights","og_description":"In a previous post, we talked about how plain language summaries (PLS\u00a0or Lay summaries) of research papers are valuable for making the research findings accessible to diverse population groups. But what if the research is needed by those with little or no command of English? Providing professionally translated versions is one alternative, but costs and [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720","og_site_name":"Editage Insights","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Editage","article_published_time":"2021-05-24T11:35:49+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-11-25T09:40:38+00:00","author":"Marisha Fonseca","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Editage","twitter_site":"@Editage","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Marisha Fonseca","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720"},"author":{"name":"Marisha Fonseca","@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/person\/d7c4142919456ea4250396c49fe1f777"},"headline":"Trying to Reach a Global Audience? Tips to Make Your Research Summaries Easy to Translate","datePublished":"2021-05-24T11:35:49+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-25T09:40:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720"},"wordCount":579,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/editage-insights-generic-banner_298.webp","articleSection":["New Media"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720","url":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720","name":"Trying to Reach a Global Audience? Tips to Make Your Research Summaries Easy to Translate | Editage Insights","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/editage-insights-generic-banner_298.webp","datePublished":"2021-05-24T11:35:49+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-25T09:40:38+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/editage-insights-generic-banner_298.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/editage-insights-generic-banner_298.webp","width":656,"height":336},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?p=37720#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Trying to Reach a Global Audience? Tips to Make Your Research Summaries Easy to Translate"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/","name":"Editage Insights","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#organization","name":"Editage Insights","url":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/editage-insights-logo-1-scaled.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/editage-insights-logo-1-scaled.webp","width":2560,"height":324,"caption":"Editage Insights"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Editage","https:\/\/x.com\/Editage"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/person\/d7c4142919456ea4250396c49fe1f777","name":"Marisha Fonseca","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f20e869af960f8daf3a3b638794b78e3f2e363b4604e2b916f9349e07bb3c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f20e869af960f8daf3a3b638794b78e3f2e363b4604e2b916f9349e07bb3c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Marisha Fonseca"},"url":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/marisha-fonseca"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37720"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37720\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37720"},{"taxonomy":"new_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/new_categories?post=37720"},{"taxonomy":"new_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/new_tags?post=37720"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=37720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}