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With an increased number of clinical trials being conducted overseas, more companies have to turn to outside sources for help conducting these trials.  A company specializing in translating clinical trial and patient recruitment documents will be instrumental in making your global clinical trial successful. 

It is important to translate clinical trial documents accurately into the local language in order to collect data from your trial location that is comparable to the data being collected in English.

Here are some tips to make the process go smoothly:

Though you may be fluent in a foreign language, resist the temptation to translate a document yourself.   Speaking and writing in a foreign language are two completely different things.  Professional translators are linguists who are fluent in both the target and (most importantly) the source languages.

In order to make your clinical trial go smoothly, write globally from the beginning of the project.  When creating your text, use uncomplicated syntax and few if any idiomatic or colloquial expressions. 

Also take a moment to review your text for possible ambiguous terms or phrases.  Having to send your original text back and forth to clarify meanings and make revisions means increasing your timeline and your costs. 

Think about your word choices.  Using the term “pins and needles” may not be your best option since it may not exist in other languages.  Find a more direct way of conveying a “tingling sensation.”

Keep in mind, translators are writers.  They have linguistic backgrounds and cultural knowledge specific to the process.  It is also part of their job to review the original text for clarity and accuracy in a way that someone whom created the original text would be unable to do.  They will check for expressions that may need clarification or that may not translate well.

Translators will also be a valuable resource in suggesting alternative expressions with more global appeal.  Getting questions from your translation provider means your project is being critically examined and you are receiving quality work for your money.

Conducting a trial in English is a large enough undertaking.  Also doing it in Hindi can be downright daunting.  With the help of a life science specialized translation professional and a little forethought, it can be less of a challenge than you think. 

 ©aiaTranslations 2009

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