Cross-cultural Study

FIRST HALF A PAGE:
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 HALF A PAGE Discussion, you will examine the challenges to cross-cultural research.
Post and explain three major challenges to conducting cross-cultural research. Then, suggest one way to solve one of the challenges.

SECOND HALF A PAGE:
In cross-cultural psychology research, a broad range of techniques is utilized to determine the best way to access critical data. Each technique has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, laboratory experiments may offer great control and ability to examine issues of cause and effect, but may not always reflect actual real-world conditions, especially in cross cultural situations. As an additional example, long term field work and interviews conducted by living in a given cultural setting for a year or two, may offer the possibility of many nuanced observations, yet such qualitative work will not lead to statistical or experimental designs. Each method tends to have pros and cons, rather than one method being the “right” one for every situation. For this Discussion, you will explore the advantages and disadvantages of using different research methods in cross-cultural research.

Post and explain one advantage and one disadvantage of quantitative research for cross-cultural psychology. Then, describe one advantage and one disadvantage of qualitative research for cross-cultural psychology. Use examples from the studies provided to support your thinking.

Note: Be sure to support your postings and responses with references and identify current relevant literature to support your work.