Chapter II: Research Methods: The Cross-Cultural Method

Abstract

A GOOD method, to paraphrase Guthrie, is at best a tool by which explanation is furthered. In the final analysis a theory or method stands or falls upon its utility. The cross-cultural method presents a number of paradoxes which the reader must keep in mind as he con siders it as a possible tool for research. First, altho the method has been in existence for some 70 years, not until recently has either its scope or its usefulness been recognized. Second, unlike many areas of research, there are relatively few studies which have been published utilizing this particu lar method. An evaluation of a methodology usually is based upon a large amount of published research which the reviewer can refer to and evaluate. Such is not the case with this particular method. However, despite the paucity of published research this particular method has had a great effect upon behavioral science, and in relation to recent work may have shown itself to be the most sensitive methodology available for those who wish to accomplish interdisciplinary research in the behavioral sciences. Since this is the first article dealing with the method in the REVIEW, some re capitulation of its history is appropriate. This is particularly true since the cross-cultural method is often confused with another valuable approach to the study of behavior, namely, the comparative or culture-personality study.