Assessing Multinational Interest in STEM: Implementing a Comparative Survey Research Study in China

Abstract

This paper introduces the design and implementation of a comparative survey research project, amistem [Assessing Multinational Interest in stem (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)] in China, the U.S., and Australia that is being conducted by researchers at Indiana University. We begin with an overview of how survey research has developed in China during the past two decades, especially in the field of higher education. This analysis provides the backdrop for considering the challenges we faced in “internationalizing” the stem survey research project. Part two of the paper illuminates the difficulties of implementing the study in multiple contexts, including China. Part three of the paper examines challenges related to the translation and cultural adaptation of the u.s.-based survey for the Chinese context. Our conclusions shed light on the contexts, processes, challenges and possibilities of conducting multi-national survey research in China, as well as on ways to insure that multi-national surveys are culturally appropriate and comparable.