Discussion 1: Challenges to Cross-Cultural Research

Challenges to cross-cultural research are ample and significant. Pragmatic issues may preclude long term immersion in the culture due to financial issues or lack of sufficient time. Additionally, translation issues may make it difficult to achieve a one–to-one correspondence on questionnaire items used in multiple cultures and languages. Additionally, there are often delicate negotiations across gender, age, status, religious, and economic backgrounds that can involve power and privilege in ways that require careful and appropriate discussion to resolve ethically and to preserve the integrity of the research, researchers, and research participants. As you move forward in your future professional work, take the time to consider the challenges researchers face in light of growing need to further understand the diverse cultures in the world at large. You will find that this type of research will be critically important to further your professional growth and knowledge.

For this Discussion, you will examine the challenges to cross-cultural research.

To Prepare

• Review this week’s Learning Resources and consider the types of challenges researchers face when conducting cross-cultural research.

Post and explain three major challenges to conducting cross-cultural research. Then, suggest one way to solve one of the challenges.

Learning Resources

Required Readings

Karasz, A., & Singelis, T. M. (2009). Qualitative and mixed methods research in cross-cultural psychology: Introduction to the special issue. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 40(6), 909–916

Leech, N. L., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2009). A typology of mixed methods research designs. Quality and Quantity, 43(2), 265–275. doi:10.1007/s11135-007-9105-3

Malda, M., Van de Vijver, F. J. R., Srinivasan, K., Transler, C., Sukumar, P., & Rao, K. (2008). Adapting a cognitive test for a different culture: An illustration of qualitative procedures. Psychology Science Quarterly, 50(4), 451–468.

Miller, K. E., Omidian, P., Quraishy, A. S., Quraishy, N., Nasiry, M. N., Nasiry, S.,… & Yaqubi, A. A. (2006). The Afghan symptom checklist: A culturally grounded approach to mental health assessment in a conflict zone. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 76(4), 423–433.

Rich, G., Sirikantraporn, S., & Jean-Charles, W. (2018). The concept of posttraumatic growth in an adult sample from Port-Au-Prince, Haiti: A mixed methods study. In G. Rich & S. Sirikantraporn (Eds.), Human strengths and resilience: Developmental, cross-cultural, and international Perspectives (pp. 21–38).Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
Credit Line: International Differences in Well-Being, by Diener, J.; Helliwell, J. ; Kahneman, D. Copyright 2010 by Oxford University Press. Reprinted by permission of Oxford University Press via the Copyright Clearance Center. 

Van de Vijver, F. J. R. (2009). Types of comparative studies in cross-cultural psychology. Online readings in psychology and culture, 2(2), pp.1–12.

Credit Line: Fons J. R. van de Vijver. (2009). Types of Comparative Studies in Cross-Cultural Psychology. Retrieved from ​https://doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1017. Used with permission of International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology.

Van de Vijver, F. J. R., & Tanzer, N. K. (2004). Bias and equivalence in cross-cultural assessment: An overview. European Review of Applied Psychology, 54(2), 119–135.