以關鍵決策稽核法剖析會議口譯準備中的專家決策

Abstract

會議口譯準備（conference preparation, CP）與口譯品質的關係密不可分，因此近年來逐漸受到理論與實證研究的關注，惟口譯員在實際準備過程中所做的決策與思辯仍有待闡明，方能使相關文獻更臻完整。故此，本研究以自然決策研究傳統（naturalistic decision making, NDM）觀點出發，採用關鍵決策稽核法為主要研究方法（critical decision audit, CDA），剖析會議口譯準備流程中的關鍵決策。自然決策研究著重決策者在真實環境中所做的決策，而關鍵決策稽核法則結合兩種自然決策研究常採用的認知任務分析工具（cognitive task analysis, CTA）—即關鍵決策法（critical decision method, CDM）與知識稽核（knowledge audit, KA），兩者皆以系統性的方式，汲取並分析各領域專技所需的認知技能。本研究共邀請12位達專家水準的中英口譯員參與，藉由填寫會議準備日誌，詳細記錄一場選定會議前的各類準備工作。所蒐集日誌經研究者分析後，共得出八大重要決策點。所有受試者進一步於所選會議結束後接受關鍵決策稽核訪談，當中研究者透過預擬之深究問題（probe questions），請受試者分享各大決策點中所採用的策略與所關注的線索（cues），以及專家與新手之間的潛在差異。最終透過分析訪談，共得出54個專家於會議口譯準備中採用的策略與線索，與27項專家與新手之間的潛在差異。上述研究結果不僅有助拓展會議口譯準備現有的陳述性與程序性知識範疇，更進一步以認知觀點檢視會議準備流程，凸顯專家在準備會議決策過程中展現的認知思維與技能，供口譯員、教學者與口譯學生參考。

Conference preparation (CP), a critical determinant of interpreting quality, has received increasing scholarly attention in recent years. Although existing research has extensively discussed its theoretical and prescriptive components, descriptive and empirical studies are still emerging to explore the practical aspects of CP. Furthermore, a review of the literature has revealed a need to explore the decisions and reasoning behind the actions taken throughout the CP process. As such, this study attempted to address this gap by employing the Critical Decision Audit (CDA) method to explore major decisions made by expert interpreters during CP from the perspective of Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM), a research paradigm that studies decision making in real-world, dynamic, and uncertain settings. The CDA method is a combination of the Critical Decision Method (CDM) and the Knowledge Audit (KA), both of which are derivatives of Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA), a family of knowledge elicitation methods used to elicit, analyze, and represent the cognitive expertise required to perform a task. A sample of 12 expert Mandarin-English interpreters was recruited to participate in the study. They first documented CP-oriented events during a chosen conference cycle in a diary. Eight main decision points were identified from these diaries, which served as the basis for the subsequent CDA interviews, where the researchers used pre-defined probe questions to delve deeper into the decision points. The interview results were analyzed and displayed in eight matrices to highlight decision-related cues, strategies, and potential expert-novice differences. In the end, the interviews revealed a total of 54 cues and strategies that the experts attended to in CP and 27 expert-novice differences, many of which were not documented in the interpreting literature. The study’s findings not only broadened existing declarative and procedural knowledge of CP but also revealed the subtle and cognitive aspects of decision making expertise in CP, yielding insights that may potentially benefit practitioners, trainers, and trainees. The study, as a preliminary endeavor to bridge NDM and interpreting research through CDA, has contributed to the literature and pedagogy by adding a cognitive perspective to the understanding of CP.