Methodological issues in cross-cultural research: establishing equivalence

Author(s):  
V. Kumar
Author(s):  
Elena Karahanna ◽  
Roberto Evaristo ◽  
Mark Srite

This paper presents a discussion of methodological issues that are relevant and idiosyncratic to cross-cultural research. One characteristic that typifies cross-cultural studies is their comparative nature, i.e., they involve a comparison across two separate cultures on a focal phenomenon. When differences across cultures are observed, the question arises as to whether the results are true cultural differences or merely measurement artifacts. Methodological considerations in cross-cultural research focus on ruling out alternative explanations for these differences and thus enhancing the interpretability of the results. The paper presents an overview of key methodological issues in cross-cultural research and reviews methods of preventing or detecting methodological problems.


Author(s):  
Elena Karahanna ◽  
Roberto Evaristo ◽  
Mark Srite

This chapter presents a discussion of methodological issues that are relevant and idiosyncratic to cross-cultural research. One characteristic that typifies cross-cultural studies is their comparative nature, i.e., they involve a comparison across two separate cultures on a focal phenomenon. When differences across cultures are observed, the question arises as to whether the results are true cultural differences or merely measurement artifacts. Methodological considerations in cross-cultural research focus on ruling out alternative explanations for these differences and thus enhancing the interpretability of the results. The chapter presents an overview of key methodological issues in cross-cultural research and reviews methods of preventing or detecting methodological problems.


2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 92-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Fortunato

My aim in this article is to elucidate the relevance of the evolutionary paradigm to the study of kinship and marriage systems. I begin with a discussion of conceptual and methodological issues that arise in approaching human social systems from an evolutionary perspective. I then narrow the focus on key tools used in contemporary cross-cultural research within evolutionary anthropology. Next, as a case study, I provide an overview of work aimed at reconstructing the (pre)history of the nuclear family in Indo-European-speaking societies, focusing on the interplay between monogamous marriage and neolocal residence. I conclude with musings on the prospect of a biologically based social anthropology.


2002 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Karahanna ◽  
Roberto Evaristo ◽  
Mark Srite

1993 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 199-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosemary Gartner

Researchers concur on the importance of a cross-cultural perspective for understanding and preventing violence, but not on the particular analytic strategy that should inform such a perspective. This paper examines the actual and potential contributions of one of the dominant analytic strategies in cross-cultural research on violence: research based on large-survey data. I review the major sources of large-survey data, and evaluate these data and the research based on them. I then suggest directions for future work that could compensate for limitations of existing data and research. In particular, I argue for two innovations: (1) development of new sources of cross-cultural survey data on violence based on sub-national sampling units, and (2) multilevel strategies that would balance within-society and between-society analyses and examine intervening mechanisms linking macro-social factors with violent outcomes.


2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taciano L. Milfont ◽  
Ronald Fischer

Researchers often compare groups of individuals on psychological variables. When comparing groups an assumption is made that the instrument measures the same psychological construct in all groups. If this assumption holds, the comparisons are valid and differences/similarities between groups can be meaningfully interpreted. If this assumption does not hold, comparisons and interpretations are not fully meaningful. The establishment of measurement invariance is a prerequisite for meaningful comparisons across groups. This paper first reviews the importance of equivalence in psychological research, and then the main theoretical and methodological issues regarding measurement invariance within the framework of confirmatory factor analysis. A step-by-step empirical example of measurement invariance testing is provided along with syntax examples for fitting such models in LISREL.


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