Integrative description of translation processes

Empirical translation scholars constantly strive to meet the rigorous research requirements required by the scientific research paradigm. Studying cognitive processes in translation, however, involves many findings based on highly qualitative data, including subjective observations of very complex psycho-social events. In process research, perhaps the complex issue of “human translation” becomes much too simplified when approached from just the framework of the scientific paradigm. The holistic human character of translation is lost if attitudes and methods from disciplines belonging to the liberal arts paradigm are neglected. In this article, the focus is on the process of integrative description in cognitive translation studies, a method which combines approaches from both empirical science and the liberal arts.