Crosscultural Survey Methods,New

PRACTICAL METHODOLOGIES FOR CROSSCULTURAL RESEARCHSince all research is in a sense comparative, it is sometimes argued that methods and requirements remain the same, no matter what country or nationality is involved. The editors of this volume contend that this philosophy is an oversimplification. Although comparative survey research builds on and benefits from best practices established in monocultural research, crosscultural research requires methodologies which address the central issues of equivalence of measurement and comparability of findings. The literature dealing with these issues has tended to be piecemeal, scattered across disciplines, and focused on specific questionnaires and the needs of single disciplines. This book provides the first systematic, interdisciplinary and handson treatment of the issues of greatest saliency for comparative survey research within and across countries.Breaking new ground in its approach, CrossCultural Survey Methods describes how to recognize and deal with the major obstacles at each stage of researching, striving for equivalence and comparability. Topics include:* Designing and crafting questionnaires for comparative subjects, including questionnaire translation* Error and bias issues in crossnational surveys* Techniques for analyzing bias and equivalence* Statistical techniques for substantive analysis and the use of multidimensional scaling to analyze bias and research questions* Important issues of preparing data for secondary analysis, such as data access, and documentation* An introduction to metaanalysis in comparative survey researchConsistently readable and grounded in the expertise of noted international authorities, this volume fills an increasing need for practical methodologies for crosscultural research.