Research Methodology

Comparison

When researchers conduct multicultural research, they need to involve data collection from a minimum of two cultural groups to ensure validity is achieved.  It is generally agreed that researchers should use a minimum of three diverse cultures to create a study where meaningful comparisons are made, for, all studies that consist solely of single-pair comparisons are uninterpretable (Segall, Lonner, & Berry, 1998).  Some multicultural studies are monocultural where comparisons are made between the study and data collected in previous studies by researchers.

Sampling studies should focus on using three cultural populations.  The best form of sampling is random sampling.  This is considered to be the “gold” standard because it “minimizes bias, error, and study findings can be generalized to other populations (Nokes & Nwakeze, 2006).  Another useful sampling method is probability sampling.  This form of samplings involves creating a random sample from a list of all the potential individuals in the target population.  Probability sampling is considered to be the most efficient way to create this sampling.  Probability sampling creates a means to give every individual in the target population an equal chance of being a participant in the study.

Observation is another research instrument that can be successful in multicultural research.  It typically involves using descriptive studies of a culture using a methodology called ethnographic.  Ethnographic methodology is a detailed study of a particular cultural group that describes the group’s cultural patterns and world views.  A typical way to perform observational research is to have the researcher become enmeshed in the culture in order to conduct the observation fieldwork in order to collect and analyze the data as it pertains to the culture context.  Grounded theory is another form of observation method that allows researchers to observe participants in a social setting without requiring the researcher to be an active participant of the group.  The participants may also not know they are being observed as well.

Issues with Multicultural Studies

There are some fundamental issues when performing multicultural research.  Often there are cultural issues that prevent individuals from desiring to participate in research studies.  Some of the issues that can complicate the recruitment of random sampling are immigration status, fear of officials and deportation, and language barriers (National Research Council, 1996).  Also, if the individuals come from a country or culture where previous encounters with the law can lead to political persecution, they may fear people making inquires, especially if they believe that the research is being conducted by the government (Chung & Bemak, 1997).  Human behavior can change in the presence of a researcher especially if the researcher is enmeshed in the culture.  The individual participants may or may not react in typical cultural ways so that the researcher or the study views them in a better light.

Observational methodologies have been the most promising techniques for the analysis of human behavior, capable of dealing with its complexity and variability (Anguera, 2003).  Observation methods can be performed in many ways.  It can be done through one-on-one interaction, large group observation in a social setting or by videotaping participants as they are being observed.  Videotaping the participant’s interactions can be a useful research technique, especially if the researcher is not of the culture that is being observed.  This allows the researcher to revisit the encounter so that they can understand what the impact of culture is and also allows them to seek an expert in the culture to help interpret the observations.  It can be very difficult for an outsider of the culture to be an effective participant in the culture to perform an observation study.  If the researcher is only viewed as a researcher and not part of the culture, the observational study can be skewed by the participant’s responses depending on how they feel about the researcher.  Many times, a researcher will need to rely on recorded cultural norms or previous research to determine if the behavior being observed is skewed or typical cultural norms.

Conclusion

Human behavior can be studied in either a traditional or multicultural research study.  Multicultural research studies often are a more valuable process because it can spotlight issues that are present in a particular culture that may have been missed by traditional research studies.  For a researcher to have a well-rounded study, it is imperative that they include multicultural research.  As with all research, there are some implementation issues that need to be addressed when conducting multicultural research studies; however, if the problems encountered by researchers are addressed during the data can provide great insight into cultural influences in human behavior.

References

Anguera, M. T. (2003). Observational methods (general). In R. Fernandez-Ballesteros, Encyclopedia of psychological assessment (Vol. 2, pp. 632-637).

Chung, R. C., & Bemak, F. (1997). Methodological issues and recommendations on research with at-risk youth across cultures: A case study. Childhood: A global Journal of Child Research , 4 (4), 465-475.

Doordan, A. (1998). Research Survival Guide. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott.

National Research Council. (1996). Understanding violence against women. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Nokes, K., & Nwakeze, P. (2006). Exploring Research Issues: In using a random sampling plan with highly marginalized populations. Journal of Psychology .

Segall, M., Lonner, W., & Berry, J. (1998). Cross-cultural psychology as a scholarly discipline: On the flowering of culture in behavioral research. American Psychologist , 53 (10), 1101-1110.