Cross-Cultural Research 2
Cross-Cultural Research 2
These safeguards need to be in place, due to the idea of equivalence = trying to make sure that the
experiences we are studying are similar enough that comparisons can be made.
Ensure definitions and boundaries of culture are clear - e.g., comparison between Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander cultures are problematic due to no systematic study of the inherent
and distinct differences between the two.
Be aware of population sampling - a similar sample will not always be representative of
different populations. e.g., there are differences in the age distribution for non-indigenous and
indigenous Australians. If you had the same age range for an indigenous and a non-indigenous
sample, then those two samples would have different levels of representativeness of their
cultures.
Equivalent research context - e.g., different cultural backgrounds will influence how readily
participants share information, and so it may be different for the experimenters leading the
differences between guarded and acquiescent cultures. Some cultures may open up quite
readily and others be a bit more guarded.
Language equivalence - making sure that you're translating and then also back translating to
ensure the meaning is not lost in different measures. (a process where you translate into the
language you want to study in, and then get a separate person to translate it back to its
original language and compare the original measure to the double translated one to see that
the meanings haven't been lost.)
Phenomenon equivalence - the very phenomenon that you are studying may not have an
equivalence in the different cultures. So you may need to look at the actual interface and the
applicability of the theory and the practical investigation of that theory. E.g., the importance of
numerical knowledge is not equivalent for non-indigenous and indigenous Australians, so age,
date of birth - these things don't hold the same value across those different cultures, and so
this could lead to an erroneous categorization
of intelligence when an aboriginal child does not know this information.
Researcher bias - the researcher needs to be acutely aware of their own biases, especially if
they are studying their own culture in comparison to a culture they don't belong to. So this is
based on the idea of ethnocentrism (= the tendency for people to take the view that their own
culture is the starting point and other cultures as foreign or a outside of that, and use that as
the normal point of comparison.)
Sensitive issues - there are issues that some cultures might find sensitive or offensive that are
fine with other cultures, and these potential sensitivities need to be accounted for ahead of
time.
OYS