A sample of a multi-step approach to cross-cultural research design.
Step 1. Describe a problem (an issue) you have to investigate.
Review the scholarly literature on the topic. You may use popular
journals, magazines, and newspapers for additional references. Check
available sources in the language of the country or countries you
examine, if necessary.
Step 2. Identify your research goal, i.e. explain what you want to
achieve as a result. Then introduce one or several hypotheses for your
study. You can use at least two strategies; (a) inductive: you collect
data first, and then make a conclusion about the studied samples; (b)
deductive: you select a hypothesis first; then you collect data to
demonstrate or reject the selected hypothesis.
Step 3. Identify and describe the research sample of your
study: groups of people, newspaper reports, children’s drawings, texts,
etc.
Step 4. Choose or design a methodology for your project. Make
sure that your method does not violate research ethics. Refer to your
local Human Subjects Review Board for approval. Put together a
schedule (time-table) for your project.
Step 5. Conduct a pilot study, a preliminary exploration of the
method to see how your methodology works and whether there are any
obstacles to data collection.
Step 6. Collect research data.
Step 7. Interpret you data using statistical procedures.
Step 8. Present the results and analyze them critically in a
report.
Step 9. In your report, suggest where and how your data should
be or could be used (i.e., in education, counseling, advertisement,
conflict-resolution, etc.)
Source: Shiraev E.and Levy, D. Cross-Cultural Psychology. (2007). Second Edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon
Two Research Strategies in Cross-Cultural Studies
Comparativist strategy: Researchers focus primarily on
similarities and differences in certain statistical measures in a
sample of ethnic, religious, or national group. Example: Are
major symptoms of alcoholism similar in European and Asian
populations?
Application-oriented strategy: Researchers attempt to
establish the applicability of research findings obtained in
one ethnic, religious, or national group to other ethnic,
religious, or national groups. Example: If a certain method of
treatment of depression in women is proven effective in
Great Britain and the United States, will this method be
similarly effective in Japan or China?
Source: Shiraev E.and Levy, D. Cross-Cultural Psychology. (2007). Second Edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon
Generic rules that used for successful
translation in cross-cultural studies
 The translation process from the beginning
ought to be conducted by bilinguals, i.e., by
people proficient in both languages. They should
conduct back-translation: initially, they translate
the original version of the method and then
transfer this version back into the original
language. Then both versions are compared.
 It is quite beneficial to have several people do
the translation so that there will be several
versions of it. These versions can then be
compared and converted into one.
 Both
versions of a questionnaire can be
administered on the same bilingual individuals. If
the investigator gets similar results on both
versions, this is a good indicator that the
translation was conducted successfully.
Source: Shiraev E. and Levy, D. Cross-Cultural Psychology. (2007). Second Edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon
A case in point. A 2003 study, conducted in Finland, found that Finnish
women who had cosmetic breast implants were three times more likely
to commit suicide than the general population. These results were
similar to findings from a comparable study of Swedish and American
women conducted by the National Cancer Institute. The question is
why? A common response of the media after the publication of the
Finnish study was that breast implants caused a high risk of suicidal
behavior. Are there other explanations?
Option 2: The high suicide rate might be a function of the problems,
discomfort, pain, or serious regrets that occur in some women months
and years after their surgery.
Option 3: It is also possible that the high suicide rate reflects the
psychological makeup of women who seek implants. In other words,
women who want to have breast implants, as a group, might be more
likely than all other women to have specific psychological problems
than the general population.
Source: Kaufman (2003).