Cross-Cultural Survey Methods

JANET A. HARKNESS, PhD, is Director for Germany of the International Social Survey Program (ISSP), convenor and member of the ISSP methodology groups, and is internal coordinator of COMPASS, a five-country consortium of research institutes for European comparative social science survey research. FONS J. R. Van de VIJVER, PhD, teaches cross-cultural psychology at Tilburg University, The Netherlands. He is Editor of the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. PETER Ph. MOHLER, PhD, is Director of ZUMA, member of the Board of Directors of GESIS, and a professor at Manheim University.

• Contributors. Preface. PART I: INTRODUCTION. Comparative Research (J. Harkness, et al.). PART II: DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION. Questionnaire Design in Comparative Research (J. Harkness, et al.). Questionnaire Translation (J. Harkness). Communication and Social Cognition (M. Braun). Developing Comparable Questions in Cross-National Surveys (T. Smith). Culture-Sensitive Context Effects: A Challenge for Cross-Cultural Surveys (N. Schwarz). Background Variables (M. Braun & P. Mohler). Sampling and Estimation (S. Hader & S. Gabler). PART III: ERROR AND COMPARATIVE SURVEYS. Errors in Comparative Survey Research: An Overview (M. Braun). Bias and Equivalence: Cross-Cultural Perspectives (F. Van de Vijver). Nonresponse in Cross-Cultural and Cross-National Surveys (M. Couper & E. de Leeuw). Data Collection Methods (K. Skj?k & J. Harkness). Social Desirability in Cross-Cultural Research (T. Johnson & F. Van de Vijver). PART IV: ANALYSIS OF COMPARATIVE DATA. Bias and Substantive Analyses (F. Van de Vijver). Multidimensional Scaling (J. Fontaine). Cross-Cultural Equivalence with Structural Equation Modeling (J. Billiet). Multitrait -Multimethod Studies (W. Saris). Response Function Equality (W. Saris). PART V: DOCUMENTATION AND SECONDARY ANALYSIS. Using Published Survey Data (J. van Deth). Documenting Comparative Surveys for Secondary Analysis (P. Mohler & R. Uher). The Use of Meta-Analysis in Cross-National Studies (E. de Leeuw & J. Hox). Glossary (T. Johnson). References. Author Index. Subject Index.

"…there is a need for more efforts at cross-cultural and cross-national survey research. The diverse efforts of the participants in the conference as represented in this book…could serve as a stimulus for such research." (Journal of the American Statistical Association, September 2004) "If you like reading books about statistical science and its application to modern society, here is a book that you might consider." (Technometrics, Vol. 45, No. 2, May 2003)"...a useful addition to a comparative researcher's library...recommended..." (Choice, Vol. 40, No. 9, May 2003)