Guest editor's introduction: Research methods with culturally diverse populations.

Abstract

Any cursory review of major psychological journals will reveal that there has been a paucity of coverage regarding effective and culturally relevant research methodologies and approaches with regard to populations of color. Over the past several decades, however, the sophistication of research designs and methodologies used in the field of racial and ethnic minority psychology has increased dramatically. The current special section was initiated in order to capture the nature and complexities of these methodologies as applied to populations of color, as a better understanding of the application of more sophisticated research methodologies will allow researchers to conduct more culturally sensitive and relevant research. More specifically, the purpose of this special section is to introduce a variety of research methods and approaches that have been used effectively with racial and ethnic minorities to produce usable and important information relevant to these populations. Although psychologists have long endorsed the concept of methodological pluralism, the field has been slow to explicate the nature and kinds of research methodologies it uses specifically with populations of color. In order for current and future investigators to conduct culturally appropriate psychological research with racial and ethnic minority populations, it is critical that we provide a useful and accessible resource to encourage this phenomenon. During the past several decades, major psychological journals have published stand-alone articles on methodological issues and advancements in the field of ethnic minority psychology. However, much of this literature is scattered and often difficult to locate. Therefore, the aim of this special section is to provide a current and systematic treatment of the topic within Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, which also will be readily available for future generations of researchers who wish to investigate people of color. The articles in this special section will document some of the major research methodologies and approaches used by both established and up-and-coming psychologists who have conducted vital investigations with people of color. The field of ethnic and racial minority psychology can only be enhanced by the increased use of research methodologies that have been used effectively with populations of color. In addition, this special section is also a call to psychology researchers to increase their dialogue over philosophy of science and methodological diversity as they pertain to racial and ethnic minority populations. This special section should be of interest to scholars and scientists, as well as students of history and of racial and ethnic minority psychology, and it could very well serve as a group of supplementary readings for courses in racial and ethnic minority psychology. To that end, we have invited some of the leading scholars and researchers in the field to share with us their experience and recommendations with regards to the meeting these methodological challenges in relation to conducting qualitative studies, using large national datasets, use of the internet to conduct research, treatment outcome research, and integrating cross-cultural psychology research methods into ethnic minority psychology. This special section began as a special issue which was being coedited by Madonna Constantine and I. It was approved by Gordon Nagayama Hall, Editor of Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology and was scheduled to be published under Dr. Hall’s term as editor. The special issue was delayed considerably due to extenuating circumstances and Dr. Constantine’s withdrawal from the coeditorship of the special issue. Therefore, Dr. Constantine’s article was also withdrawn from the special issue. In the interim, Dr. Michael Zarate assumed Editorship of the journal and he reviewed a revised proposal for a special section. Dr. Zarate accepted the proposal and the special section is being published under his term as Editor. In the transition between editors, two of the papers for the special issue were inadvertently published during Dr. Hall’s term of office in the January 2009 issue. These two articles included: (a) Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar, Fabricio Balcazar, and Tina Taylor-Ritzler’s article on “Using the Internet to Conduct Research with Culturally Diverse Populations: Challenges and Opportunities”, and (b) Derek Griffith, Harold Neighbors, and Jonetta Johnson’s article on “Using National Data Sets to Improve the Health and Mental Health of Black Americans: Challenges and Opportunities”. These two articles were integral to the special section and should be considered as part of the special issue in combination with the three current articles. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology © 2010 American Psychological Association 2010, Vol. 16, No. 4, 572 1099-9809/10/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0020006