Research background and underlying theoretical concepts

This chapter discusses approaches to research. It evolved from specific questions, the COVID-19 context, and our personal motivations. Therefore, instead of aligning with broader public health or translation theories, we aimed to understand the details of the pandemic’s impact on London’s multilingual communities. This focus led us to adopt a community-centred and language/culture-based approach, utilising both quantitative and qualitative methods. While this work primarily focuses on empirical and inductive approaches, informed by community voices, we also draw on theoretical concepts such as conceptual maps, cultural identity, hearing voices, cultural translation, positionality, syndemic, and stigma.