Problems In Cross-cultural Research Research Articles

Przynależność kulturowa i język. O metodologicznych problemach międzykulturowej filozofii eksperymentalnej

The aim of this paper is to analyze methodological problems of cross-cultural research in experimental philosophy. By studying five research projects, representing two distinct approaches to the examination of cross-cultural differences in philosophical intuitions, I point out the difficulties related to the content validity that appear in the choice of some cultural affiliation indicators. I criticize various indicators of cultural affiliation that are used in experimental philosophy (selfidentification, language) and suggest which indicators, and how, should be chosen in that kind of research. I also argue that some problems related to bilingualism, translation, and the possible influence of language on the owned or reported philosophical intuitions may be impossible to transcend in cross-cultural research in experimental philosophy. It may be impossible to assess the differences between cultural philosophical intuitions.

Methodical Problems in Cross Cultural Studies: Equivalence—An Overview

The following article deals with equivalence as a specific quality criterion concerning cross cultural research in psychology and provides an overview for this topic. The comparability of constructs as well as of data is analyzed. For this, the different levels of equivalence are regarded, e.g., translation equivalence and others. Classical as well as modern methods for the testing and guarantee of equivalence are analyzed. Critical approaches and methodical problems of cross cultural research are described. Cross-cultural research has become very important in our world where many people have been made vulnerable by others in more powerful positions (Liamputtong, 2010). Therefore, it is of great importance to protect cultural comparison studies methodically. In the present article, specific problems of cross cultural psychology are to be considered. The objective of this article is to briefly display the complexity of problems to demonstrate several possible solutions in empirical studies. Therefore, the demonstration is only schematic and not complete as methods such as experiments or tests were used in this paper. A methodical difficulty in cultural comparison research is the fact that research lacks in fundamental papers that show how to empirically ensure and check comparability. These cross cultural psychology specific questions are also objects of the present article. To what extent are patterns of response consistent? Is comparability ensured? Is actually the same phenomenon studied? How can negative connotations be avoided? Can these problems be solved statistically? Also an attempt is made to give precise recommendations how to deal with different methods in cultural comparison.

Hofstede's dimensions of culture in international marketing studies

Growth of research addressing the relationship between culture and consumption is exponential [ Ogden D., Ogden J. and Schau HJ. Exploring the impact of culture and acculturation on consumer purchase decisions: toward a microcultural perspective. Academy Marketing Science Review 2004;3.]. However culture is an elusive concept posing considerable difficulties for cross-cultural research [Clark T. International Marketing and national character: A review and proposal for an integrative theory. Journal of Marketing 1990; Oct.: 66–79.; Dawar N., Parker P. and Price L. A cross-cultural study of interpersonal information exchange. Journal of International Business Studies 1996; 27(3): 497–516.; Manrai L. and Manrai A. Current issues in the cross-cultural and cross-national consumer research. Journal of International Consumer Marketing 1996; 8 (3/4): 9–22.; McCort D. and Malhotra NK. Culture and consumer behavior: Toward an understanding of cross-cultural consumer behavior in International Marketing. Journal of International Consumer Marketing 1993; 6 (2): 91–127.; Nasif EG., Al-Daeaj H., Ebrahimi B. and Thibodeaux M. Methodological problems in cross-cultural research: An updated review. Management International Review 1991; 31 (1): 79–91.; Lenartowicz T. and Roth K. A framework for culture assessment. Journal of International Business Studies 1999; 30 (4): 781–98.]. This article examines different approaches to conceptualising and operationalizing culture in marketing studies. The article discusses the advantages of using cultural dimensions — in particular Hofstede's values. The article proposes a three-step approach to operationalize culture including nationality, Hofstede's cultural dimensions and measuring culture at the individual level.

Individualism and Collectivism in the Personal Meaning System of Elderly Adults

Two problems in cross-cultural research are the increasingly complex definitions of individualism and collectivism and the relation between culture and self. A cultural psychological perspective on the construction of meaning can address both problems. In attributing meaning to self and life, people appropriate cultural values so that even the most authentic level of experience, the self, is culturally constituted. People are expected to use different attributes of individualism and collectivism in qualitatively different ways in relation to age-specific life contexts. The meaning of self and life was studied among American and Congolese elderly by the use of a sentence completion task. Each group showed a qualitatively different constellation of individualism and collectivism beyond cultural differences in the level of individualism and collectivism.

The Health Behavior in School-Aged Children study in Semarang, Indonesia: methodological problems in cross-cultural research

Since the ‘Health Behavior in School-Aged Children’ (HBSC) study was implemented by three European countries in 1982, it has been adopted by over 25 countries, including Canada and Australia. It is generally expected that African and Asian countries will follow. This paper reviews some methodological constraints in adapting the HBSC study in Indonesia. Although the international HBSC team has reported methodological problems in the cross-national study, no attempt to extend the original European study to South-east Asia has been described before. Cultural, religious, economical and social differences create specific obstacles as well as challenges. Next to problems related to adaptation of the questionnaire, we experienced more structural problems both in its preparation and implementation. Lack of technical infrastructure and communication facilities can serve as an example. This might be a problem insofar it affects the results. It is argued that for some behaviors such as smoking, cross-national comparability is probably not a problem. For others, e.g. use of alcohol, comparability of the data should be treated with caution. Smoking is one of the most compromising health-risk behaviors among male youngsters in Indonesia, with about 25% regular smokers (at least once a week) among 15-year-old boys. Alcohol use is less common, but data are probably less reliable because of the social and religious taboos on alcohol use and confusion about alcoholic drinks. More efforts should be made in order to examine validity of the HBSC study in non-Western countries. Furthermore, insofar developing countries will participate in this study in the near future, it is recommended that specific strategies are elaborated. These include detailed rules for translation and adaptation of the standard questionnaire, and the development of specific culture-relevant additional packages.

SPORT INVOLVEMENT AND SELF-CONCEPT IN GERMAN AND AMERICAN ADOLESCENTS

In contrast to the tendency to globalization in the world of sport, the scientific research into sport is largely restricted by national boundaries. The present study tries to break out of the parochial isolation characteristic of social sport studies. To do this, we identify self-concept and development tasks as central features of identity development in adolescence. After briefly discussing the theoretical and methodological problems of cross-cultural research, we empirically investigate the self-concept of selected groups of German and American adolescents. Furthermore, the relationship between involvement in sport and self-concept among adolescents in Germany and the USA will be examined. With regard to the pecularities of cross-cultural research the results are twofold. On the one hand, we found significantly higher self-concept scores for the American adolescents than for their German counterparts. On the other hand, there are more similarities than differences between the groups when age and gender effects on self-concept are under scrutiny. As far as the relationship between involvement in sport and self-concept is concerned, the empirical analysis reveals a positive trend valid across cultures, with those adolescents scoring highest on the self-concept measurement for whom sport plays an important role in their everyday life.

The Use of Ordinal Test Theory in Cross-cultural Research in Behavioural Science

AbstractThis paper introduces the problems of cross-cultural research and shows how ordinal test theory can contribute to the solution of some of these problems. The concept of tied-ranks scores is introduced and the use of these scores for dichotomous and polytomous items is explained, as is the use of this theory for the examination of conjoint ordering. Conjoint ordering can then be used to determine the existence of an underlying variable, and to establish whether or not the same underlying variable can be defined for each of the cultures to be compared. Given the satisfaction of these conditions, cross-cultural comparisons can be made. Other considerations germane to the problem of cross-cultural comparisons are also considered.

Improvements in Cross- Cultural Research Methods

Raoul Naroll was concerned with methodological problems of cross-cultural research—preeminently data quality control and Galton's Problem. After briefly reviewing Naroll's approach to data quality control, this article discusses recommendations for dealing with random and systematic error as taught recently at the Summer Institutes in Comparative Anthropological Research. In connection with those institutes, a computer program, which tests for spatial autocorrelation in the context of multiple regression, has been developed to deal with Galton's Problem. Also discussed are the improvements brought about by the more widespread availability of multivariate statistical techniques.

The cross-cultural use of sample surveys: problems of comparability

This article (first published in 1968) deals with the following problems of cross-cultural research: change in the identification of problem areas; question meaning and problems of verbal communication; equivalence of in dicators; the respondent as a unit in design and analysis; the usage of ?culture? in cross-cultural surveys; adminstrative and diplomatic problems; and some social effects of com parative social research. 1. Progress as a new problem identification A review of publications based on cross-cultural surveys makes it at first ap pear doubtful that there has been definite progress in research methodology and practice.1 Published research certainly does not show a neat pattern of conti nuous ascent to ever higher levels of methodological sophistication. However, I hope to show that nevertheless such progress exists in a specific although somewhat frustrating way. In surveying surveys, one can point to some technological innovations. I think, however, that the major progress has been to increase the awareness of the real sources of difficulties. In this way, the use of surveys in cross-cultural comparisons influences our understanding of research techniques and metho dology in general. This is then my main theme: progress as changes in the awareness of problem areas, as the spreading realization that an earlier identi fication of the sources of difficulties was much too simple. Up to this day, the difficulties encountered in cross-cultural comparisons tend to be perceived as problems of research technology. However, it is now increasingly realized that the main problems are methodological in the more limited sense of this term. * Originally published in: Stein Rokkan, ed., Comparative Research across Cultures and Nations, Paris/The Hague: ISSC/Mouton 1968, pp. 176-209. We are grateful to the first editors for kindly permitting us to republish this article. 1 Compare S. Rokkan, S. Verba, J. Viet and E. Almasy, Comparative Survey Analysis (Paris, Mouton, 1968).

Some methodological problems in cross-cultural media research

Abstract The differential availability and use of television around the world serves to highlight some persistent methodological problems frequently encountered in cross-cultural psychological research. Focal antecedent variables that exist prior to a study and focal consequent variables which occur later in time should be discussed in terms of focal theory. A major problem in cross-cultural research is to determine the extent to which ambient factors can provide plausible alternative explanations for any observed differences between cultures caused by some focal variable. Various ways in which television can be used as either an independent variable, a mediating variable, or as a dependent variable are summarized. A brief discussion of problems involved in studying the effect of television on the cognitive abilities of Native Alaskan children illustrates some of the methodological problems in cross-cultural media research.

Problems in cross-cultural research - From a Punjabi perspective.

Problems in cross-cultural research - From a Punjabi perspective.

The Primary Sampling Unit A Nongeographical Based Rural-Urban Example

EthosVolume 1, Issue 4 p. 546-559 Free Access The Primary Sampling Unit A Nongeographical Based Rural-Urban Example ThomasS. Weisner, ThomasS. Weisner Thomas S. Weisner is Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Los Angeles.Search for more papers by this author ThomasS. Weisner, ThomasS. Weisner Thomas S. Weisner is Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Los Angeles.Search for more papers by this author First published: Winter 1973 https://doi.org/10.1525/eth.1973.1.4.02a00160Citations: 1 AboutPDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat REFERENCES Bruner, Edward. 1970. Medan: The Role of Kinship in an Indonesian Town, Peasants in Cities ( W. Mangin, ed.), pp. 122– 134. Houghton Mifflin. Caldwell, John. 1969. African Rural-Urban Migration: The Movement to Ghana's Towns. Columbia University Press. Friedl, Ernestine. 1959. The Role of Kinship in the Transmission of National Culture to Rural Villages in Mainland Greece. American Anthropologist 61: 30– 38. Hammel, Eugene A. 1969. The “Balkan” Peasant: A View from Serbia, Peasants in the Modern World ( Philip K. Bock, ed.). University of New Mexico Press. Lewis, Oscar. 1952. Urbanization Without Breakdown: A Case Study. Scientific Monthly 7: 31– 41. Malinowski, Bronislaw. 1961. Argonauts of the Western Pacific. E. P. Dutton and Co. Mayer, Philip. 1971, Townsmen or Tribesmen ( 2d ed.). Oxford University Press. Mcelrath, D. L. 1968. Introductory: The New Urbanization, The New Urbanization ( S. Greer, D. L. McElrath, D. Miner, and P. Orleans, eds.). St. Martins. Naroll, Raoul. 1964. On Ethnic Unit Classification. Current Anthropology 5: 283– 291. Raoul Naroll and R. Cohen, eds. 1970. A Handbook of Method in Cultural Anthropology. Natural History Press. Owens, Raymond. 1971. Industrialization and the Indian Joint Family. Ethnology 10: 223– 250. Parkin, David. 1969. Neighbors and Nationals in an African City Ward. University of California Press. Pelto, Perth. 1970. Anthropological Research. The Structure of Inquiry. Harper and Row. Van Velson, J. 1960. Labour Migration as a Positive Factor in the Continuity of the Thonga Tribal Society. Economic Development and Cultural Change 8: 265– 278. Watson, William. 1958. Tribal Cohesion in a Money Economy. Manchester University Press. Weisner, Thomas S. 1973a. Studying Rural-Urban Ties: A Matched Network Sample from Kenya, Survey Research in Africa. Its Applications and Limits ( W. O'Barr, D. Spain, and M. Tessler, eds.). Northwestern University Press. Weisner, Thomas S. 1973b. One Family, Two Households: Rural-Urban Ties in Kenya. Ph.D. dissertation, Harvard University. Whiting, John W. M. 1964. Comments on Naroll's “On Ethnic Unit Classification,” Current Anthropology 5: 305– 306. Whiting, John W. M. 1968. Methods and Problems in Cross-Cultural Research, Hand book of Social Psychology ( Gardner Lindzey and Elliot Aronson, eds.), pp. 693– 728. Addison-Wesley. Whiting, John W. M., and Beatrice B. Whiting. 1960. Contributions of Anthropology to the Methods of Studying Child Rearing, Handbook of Research Methods in Child Development ( Paul Mussen, ed.). Wiley and Sons. Whiting, John W. M. et al. 1966. Field Guide for a Study of Socialization. Wiley and Sons. Citing Literature Volume1, Issue4Winter 1973Pages 546-559 ReferencesRelatedInformation

Hidden Translation Problems in Mono—Cultural Research

Several years ago. the writer prepared a paper dealing with problems in cross-cultural research [Anderson, 1967]. The translation problem, however, is more ubiquitous than commonly assumed. ... Translation is [potentially] involved whenever research requires asking the 'same' question of people with differing backgrounds. [Ibid., p. 124] This paper will (a) argue that is always a potential problem for sociological research, (b) illustrate the difficulties arising from inattention to the problem in mono-cultural investigations with refer ence to a widely known published research report, and (c) suggest some parallels between techniques for coping with problems in cross-cultural research and those appropriate for mono-cultural use.