Launching International Collaboration for Interpretation Research

The expansion of interpretation research projects across national boundaries contributes to improved personal, professional, and intellectual outcomes for researchers and practitioners. Establishing and maintaining these collaborative teams may be especially beneficial to strengthening the research agenda of new researchers. Conducting international studies requires intercultural sensitivity in all stages of a project (Deaf culture as well as ethnicity-related cultures) and has the potential to combine culture-specific perspectives and expertise for a more comprehensive application of results. The project design, supported by literature on international joint ventures, was a process of organizing stable international research collaboration that incorporated interdisciplinary expertise at three universities (University of Arkansas–Little Rock, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, and the Karl-Franzens-University of Graz, Austria). This article follows the project through its conceptualization and initial study (2002), expansion beyond the initial research project (2004), data collection, analysis, and dissemination (2005). It presents potential options for data analysis and a description of the sample (n = 1,546). Topics of discussion include applying international joint venture stability research to establishing and maintaining research alliances, improving communication and collaborative skills, identifying mutually beneficial research topics with international universities, and applying results to the participating programs.