Process and Critical Tasks of Cross-Cultural Research

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thanh V. Tran ◽  
Tam Nguyen ◽  
Keith Chan
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Instrument Development ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Groups ◽  
Research Instrument ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
New Instrument ◽  
Cross Cultural Research ◽  
Racial Ethnic

The overall process of cross-cultural instrument development and assessment are discussed in this chapter. Research instrument is defined as a systematic and standardized tool for data collection. It includes all types of research questionnaires and standardized scales. There are three methods of cross-cultural research instrument development: adopting an existing instrument, adapting or modifying an existing instrument, and developing a new instrument. In order to develop a cross-culturally valid questionnaire or instrument, the concepts or constructs selected for the investigation must be clearly defined and bear the same meanings across the selected cultural groups. No good questionnaire can be developed without clear definitions. This is a matter of utmost importance for all levels of cultural comparative research and evaluation whether it is a gender or racial/ethnic comparison within one society or across nations.

Reflections on Cross-Cultural Research

1996 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Glover ◽  
Dasia Black-Gutman
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Studies ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Research Data ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Groups ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
Cross Cultural Research ◽  
Study Participants

Cross-cultural research, like all other research, is multi-dimensional. It includes both comparative research, as opposed to research conducted in a single society, and research in which researchers and participants belong to different cultural groups. As a process, it presents numerous challenges. In cross-cultural or comparative studies there are questions related to the validity of the constructs being employed, the appropriateness of measures, and the suitability of methodologies for specific contexts. When researchers and study participants belong to different groups, questions about who determines and defines the research, who owns it, and how the research data is used, all need to be addressed.

scholarly journals Translation as an Ecological Tool for Instrument Development

2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 40-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrey Vinokurov ◽  
Daniel Geller ◽  
Tamara L. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Instrument Development ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
Cross Cultural Research ◽  
American Society ◽  
Theoretical Issues

In this paper the authors outline the translation process involved in Macro International's evaluation of the Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Georgia. IVLP is a long-running program in which professionals and prospective leaders from around the world participate in funded short-term visits to the United States to learn first-hand professional practices and values of American society and democracy. The authors highlight the importance of attending to the theoretical issues in, discuss contextual factors inherent in, and outline specific phases of the translation process, and present the modified decentering translation technique adapted for the project. They describe the types of translation equivalencies that were addressed and present findings that attest to the quality of the translation. They underscore the importance of the translation process as a qualitative tool for the instrument development that maps the contexts of people's lives, documents emic-etic aspects of cross-cultural research, and fosters collaborations with all stakeholders of the research project.

Developing New Instruments

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thanh V. Tran ◽  
Tam Nguyen ◽  
Keith Chan
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Measurement Development ◽  
Cultural Groups ◽  
Shared Meanings ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
Cross Cultural Research ◽  
Cultural Experts ◽  
New Instruments

Developing new cross-cultural research instruments is an enormous task, and it requires careful consideration from the researchers to ensure that the instruments measure what they are designed to measure and that they can also capture cultural differences and similarities among the comparative groups. It is always challenging to develop an “etic” instrument that captures the shared meanings among the comparative cultural groups and an “emic” instrument that can measure the unique aspects of each cultural group. Constructing cross-cultural research instruments must be a collaborative endeavor of the research team and the stakeholders. Inputs from cultural experts, prospective research respondents or clients, and service providers should be an integral part of every step or phase in cross-cultural measurement development and construction. This chapter focuses on the foundation of measurement and the process of cross-cultural instrument development.

Data Management and Cross-Cultural Descriptive Analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 27-56
Author(s):  
Thanh V. Tran ◽  
Keith T. Chan
Keyword(s):  
Data Management ◽  
Research Evaluation ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Cultural Analysis ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Descriptive Statistics ◽  
Cultural Groups ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
Cross Cultural Research

Quantitative cross-cultural analysis requires the application of statistics to study the variability of a phenomenon (variable,) across cultural groups. This chapter aims to provide practical applications of descriptive statistics to describe the variables used in a cross-cultural research/evaluation project. We use statistical methods to describe the variables of interests and to test the hypotheses derived from theories for understanding cross-cultural comparisons. More specifically, we address the importance of examine the variables of interest across selected comparative groups. It is our position that in order to describe and to test hypotheses, we need first to know how the variables of interest are measured. We illustrate the use of STATA for data management and descriptive statistics throughout the chapter.

A Central Question in Cross-Cultural Research: Do Employees of Different Cultures Interpret Work-related Measures in an Equivalent Manner?

1994 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 643-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine M. Riordan ◽  
Robert J. Vandenberg
Keyword(s):  
Culturally Diverse ◽  
Covariance Structure ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Cultural Groups ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
Cross Cultural Research ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Diverse Groups

Within the present research, a covariance structure analytic procedure is applied to test the stability and transferability of organizational measures between groups in cross-cultural research. Findings support the need to establish the equivalency of constructs and measures prior to interpreting differences in means of self-report variables between culturally diverse groups. Indeed, for two measures, the cultural groups were using different conceptual frames of reference when responding to the items. For a third measure, the groups were calibrating the true scores differently. However, the source of the calibration difference was identified and subsequently accounted for in later analyses. Thus, differences between latent means for the culturally diverse groups were calculated and interpreted. The approach outlined in this paper is proffered as yielding valuable insights regarding the appropriateness of comparative cross-cultural studies.

Shame and self-conscious emotions in Japan and Australia: Evidence for a third shame logic

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 622-638
Author(s):  
Rhiannon Thomas ◽  
Russell Deighton ◽  
Masashi Mizuno ◽  
Sosei Yamaguchi and Chiyo Fujii
Keyword(s):  
Cross Cultural ◽  
The Self ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Two Cultures ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
New Instrument ◽  
Cross Cultural Research

Few studies have examined the more nuanced experiential facets of self-conscious emotion from a cross-cultural perspective. The present study’s aim was to investigate shame and embarrassment experiences in relation to shame logics (or appraisals), shame antecedents and intensity across cultures in Australia and Japan, drawing on Fessler’s Dual Logics Model of Shame ( Fessler, 2004 ), and applying a new instrument (The Self-Conscious Emotion Questionnaire). There were 157 participants from two cultures, Japan (75) and Australia (82) who completed both paper-based and web-based questionnaires. Previous findings showing a higher experienced shame intensity found in Japan were corroborated across all shame and embarrassment logics. While the logic of ‘norm non-conformity’ was the strongest logic in both cultures, the logic of ‘status lowness’ was prominent in Japan but not Australia, and the novel logic of ‘broken positive assumptions about the self’ was prominent in both cultures. Shame in Japan appeared to be stronger with an introspective ‘eyes of self’ but explicitly described trigger, whereas in Australia, it was more publicly ‘eyes of other’ and implicitly induced counter to some expectations. Findings support the Self-Conscious Emotion Questionnaire as an instrument for exploring nuanced aspects of self-conscious emotion in cross-cultural research and lend support to a novel third logic of ‘broken positive assumptions about the self’ in both Australian and Japanese samples.

scholarly journals Child-directed and overheard input from different speakers in two distinct cultures

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgia Loukatou ◽  
Camila Scaff ◽  
Katherine Demuth ◽  
Alejandrina Cristia ◽  
Naomi Havron
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Groups ◽  
Urban Regions ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
Cross Cultural Research

Despite the fact that in most communities interaction occurs between the child and multiple speakers, most previous research on input to children focused on input from mothers. We annotated recordings of Sesotho-learning toddlers living in non-industrial Lesotho in South Africa, and French-learning toddlers living in urban regions in France. We examined who produced the input (mothers, other children, adults), how much input was child directed, and whether and how it varied across speakers. As expected, mothers contributed most of the input in the French recordings. However, in the Sesotho recordings, input from other children was more common than input from mothers or other adults. Child-directed speech from all speakers in both cultural groups showed similar qualitative modifications. Our findings suggest that input from other children is prevalent and has similar features as child-directed from adults described in previous work, inviting cross-cultural research into the effects of input from other children.

scholarly journals Navigating Methodological Concerns at the Data Collection Stage: Lessons from a Qualitative Indian-Irish Adoption Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sahana Mitra ◽  
Valerie O'Brien
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Work ◽  
Adoption Process ◽  
Adoption Study ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Cross Cultural Research ◽  
Adoptive Parenthood ◽  
Irish Study

This paper was written to describe the experiences of the researchers in designing cross-cultural research on the culturally sensitive topic of adoptive parenthood, a field in which there is a dearth of literature. Taking the experience and examples from an Indian-Irish study on domestic adoptive parenthood, the paper details the steps as to how the researchers used their own relationship with adoption, and the different cultural contexts to which they belonged, as a starting point in designing and implementing this research. The discussion utilizes a conceptual framework involving insider-outsider positioning, reflexivity and five philosophical assumptions (ontology, epistemology, methodology, axiology, and rhetoric) to show how cross-cultural research can be negotiated. Through the research design and data collection stage, researchers' understanding about themselves and about the adoption process in the two countries, is used as a backdrop for the exploration. While various deliberations and negotiations between the researchers are described, the paper also shows the differences and methodological concerns that can be steered through inter-cultural territory, where reflexivity is central to all stages of the endeavor. These processes and reflections are summarized in this paper, with recommendations for students and academics to promote the discussions around the design of qualitative cross-cultural work.

scholarly journals SOME CHALLENGES IN CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARATIVE RESEARCH

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 502
Author(s):  
Alex Krouglov
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Methods ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
Cross Cultural Research ◽  
Desk Research

The paper examines the application of qualitative methods in comparative research in a recent international project Industrial Relations in Multilingual Environments at Work (IR MultiLing) which explored how the use of languages other than a dominant language may affect labour relations in various work situations in Europe. The novelty of the current research covered in this paper lies in the fact that it investigates some challenges in developing the best ways of creating an analytical framework when conducting cross-cultural research involving multinational teams of researchers from France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. It also analyses approaches in completing an effective comparison of the contexts and findings across various cultures. Although, there are many examples of qualitative research in literature, this paper aims at exploring some credible approaches in conducting cross-cultural research by international teams of scholars at several key stages: desk research and contextualisation, identifying clear parameters for fieldwork, systematising and comparing findings of the research. The purpose of this research is to provide guidance and some tools to researchers engaged in cross-cultural comparative research using qualitative methods. 

Applied Multiple Regression Analysis in Cross-Cultural Comparisons

2021 ◽  
pp. 57-130
Author(s):  
Thanh V. Tran ◽  
Keith T. Chan
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Multiple Regression Analysis ◽  
Multiple Regression ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Groups ◽  
Moderation Effect ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
Cross Cultural Research ◽  
Regression Techniques ◽  
Cultural Comparisons

This chapter focuses on the application of multiple regression analysis in cross-cultural comparisons using the Stata statistical package. We explain the assumptions and uses of multiple regression and relevant techniques for examining the applicability of the data for analysis. We briefly discuss reliability analysis across culture groups and provide a step-by-step approach for analyzing and interpreting real world examples of cross-cultural research suing multiple regression techniques. We explain and provide examples of mediation and moderation effect, and conclude with techniques to test the equivalence of effects across different cultural groups.

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