Overview of Cross-Cultural Research Overview of Cross-Cultural Research

Abstract

Abstract Chapter 1 provides the readers an overview of the definitions of culture, a brief discussion of cross-cultural research backgrounds in anthropology, psychology, sociology, and political science, and the influences of these fields on social work. These cross-cultural research fields offer social work both theoretical and methodological resources. The chapter shows that all cross-cultural research fields share the same concern—that is, the equivalence of research instruments. One cannot draw meaningful comparisons of behavioral problems, social values, or psychological status between or across different cultural groups in the absence of cross-culturally equivalent research instruments.