Encyclopedia of Sociology

CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS

Also of general interest are the surveys under-
taken under the auspices of the World Values
Survey Group and Eurobarometer. The World
Values Survey (WVS) (originally termed the ‘‘Eu-
ropean Values Survey’’) began in 1981 as social
scientists in nine Western European countries
administered a common survey of social, political,
moral, and religious values in their respective
countries. Between 1981 and 1984, this survey was
replicated in fourteen additional countries, in-
cluding a number of non-European countries. In
1990–1993, a second wave of the World Values
Survey was conducted in a broader group of forty-
three nations and a third wave was undertaken in
1995–1996. In terms of content, the WVS is broad-
ly organized around values and norms regarding
work, family, the meaning and purpose of life, and
topical social issues. Specifically, respondents are
queried on everything from their views on good
and evil to their general state of health, from their
associational memberships to their opinions of the
value of scientific discoveries (see Inglehart 1997;
MacIntosh 1998). The Eurobarometer surveys be-
gan in 1974 as an extension of an earlier series of
European Community surveys. Designed primari-
ly to gauge public attitudes toward the Common
Market and other EU institutions, the Eurobarometer
surveys, carried out every Fall and Spring, have
expanded to include a variety of special topics of
interest to sociologists, ranging from attitudes re-
garding AIDS to beliefs about the role of women
(see Pettigrew 1998; Quillian 1995).

Finally, there are two more specialized pro-
jects that are deserving of note for their scale and
scope. Of interest to students of crime and devi-
ance is the International Crime (Victim) Survey
(IC(V)S). Begun in 1989 and carried out again in
1992 and 1996, the IC(V)S gathers reports of
crime, in addition to surveying attitudes regarding
the police and the criminal justice system, fear of
crime, and crime prevention (see Alvazzi del Frate
and Patrignani 1995; Zvekic 1996). At present,
over fifty countries have participated in the IC(V)S.
Scholars interested in cross-cultural dimensions of
poverty and development have benefitted from
the Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS).
In this World Bank-directed program of research,
surveys have been conducted in over two dozen
developing countries since 1980 with the aim of
gauging the welfare of households, understanding
household behavior, and assessing the impact of

government policy on standards of living. The

central instrument is a household questionnaire

that details patterns of consumption. Other mod-

ules, collecting information regarding the local

community, pricing, and schools and health facili-

ties, have also been administered in a number of

cases (see Grosh and Glewwe 1998; Stecklov 1997).

CHALLENGES AND PROBLEMS IN CROSS-

CULTURAL RESEARCH

There are numerous methodological problems in

cross-cultural research including: acquiring the

needed linguistic and cultural skills and research

funds; gaining access to field sites and data ar-

chives; defining and selecting comparable units;

ensuring the representativeness of selected cases;

and determining conceptual equivalence and meas-

urement reliability and validity. These first two

sets of problems are obvious, but not easily re-

solved. Cross-cultural analysis is costly in terms of

time and money, and it usually demands at least a

minimal level (and often much more) of education

in the history, language, and culture of groups of

people foreign to the researcher. The difficulties

of gaining access to, and cooperation from, indi-

viduals and groups in cross-cultural research ‘‘are

always experienced but rarely acknowledged by

comparative researchers’’ (Armer 1973, pp. 58–

59). Specific discussions of, and development of

strategies for, gaining access are crucial because

research can not begin without such access. Addi-

tionally, casual, insensitive, or ethnocentric pre-

sentation of self and research goals to foreign

gatekeepers (officials, scholars, and those indi-

viduals directly studied) not only negatively affects

the original study, but can also cause serious prob-

lems for others who plan future cross-cultural

research (Form 1973; Portes 1973). Given the

cultural isolation of many social scientists in the

United States, it is not surprising that these practi-

cal problems have contributed to the lack of cross-

cultural research in American sociology. Howev-

er, the internationalization of the social sciences

and the globalization of social and environmental

issues are contributing to the gradual elimination

of many of these practical problems (Sztompka 1988).

For the cross-cultural analysis of social psycho-

logical processes the unit of analysis is most often

interactive events or individuals that are sampled