Problems and Methods of Cross-Cultural Research.

This article focuses on the problems and methods of cross-cultural research comparing the Middle East and the U.S. The problems of this cross-cultural research concerns on the following: research design, data collection process, sampling, timing of data collection, and analysis and reporting. Studies within a culture are concerned with individual variation about the norm for the culture while cross-cultural studies provides information about variation of norms as a function of cultural differences. Items that may exist as a problem in cross-cultural compatibility can be identified as objective, subjective, relative, and attitudinal. Frame of reference is significant in comparative research. The correlational approach is needed in studying a cultural area, however, it doesn't differentiate between stimulus and response equivalence but identifies cultural similarities and differences. Inclusion of certain social customs is an important tool in cross-cultural research particularly for studies concerned with attitudes and values. Centers were established to administer the program in the U.S., Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. The studies are concerned with the measurement of variables in broad areas such as family relations, personality, and attitudes. The sample data gathered are treated through subscales and subgroups.