Self-study guide for translating a psychological scale I am conducting research on Arab homosexual men. I want to translate to Arabic and validate psychological scales like scales for gender dysphoria, internalized homophobia scales ..etc
first, How to know if the scale is copyrighted or not?(e.g. are scales in the DSM copyrighted ?)
second, is their any plan or self-study book to help me do this?
The article by Gudmundsson (2009) looks very useful. It describes an eight step process for translating and adaptive psychological instruments. The article is written clearly with concrete suggestions and references to the broader literature.


  
  selecting an instrument for translation
  selecting qualified translators
  selecting qualified experts 
  Method of translation (e.g., back translation, two independent translations)
  Method of adaptation
  Investigating bias
  pilot studies
  validity studies
  


In general, psychological scales are copyrighted. That said, many academics would be excited at the prospect of having their scale being translated into another language. Thus, in general, a good approach is to contact the author of the scale to get their consent to you performing the translation. 

References

Gudmundsson, E. (2009). Guidelines for translating and adapting psychological instruments. Nordic Psychology, 61(2), 29.