Fundamentals of Research on Culture and Psychology: Theory and Methods

ISBN-13: 9780415820325 / Angielski / Miękka / 2015 / 326 str.

Valery Chirkov

Opis

This is the first book that provides detailed guidelines of how to conduct multi-disciplinary research to study people's behaviors in different cultures. Readers are encouraged to look beyond disciplinary boundaries to address issues between individuals and their socio-cultural environments so as to design the most effective studies possible. The core philosophical and theoretical assumptions that underlie the strategies, designs, and techniques used when researching cultural issues are examined. The book reviews all the steps that go into doing cultural research from formulating the research problem to selecting the most appropriate method for data analysis. Realist and interpretivist paradigms together with the theory of cultural models and quantitative, qualitative, mixed-method, and multiple-design strategies are reviewed. Case studies, ethnographies, and interviewing techniques are emphasized throughout. Chapters open with learning objectives and end with a conclusion, a glossary, questions, exercises, and recommended readings. Numerous multidisciplinary examples, tables, and figures demonstrate and synthesize the analysis of data. Information boxes provide historical notes and how-to boxes provide tips on methodological issues. Highlights include: -Encourages researchers to breach disciplinary boundaries to address the problems of human functioning in different cultures (Chs. 1 & 2). -Introduces readers to the theory of cultural models that helps bridge the human mind and socio-cultural realities (Chs. 2 & 10). -Propagates the realist and interpretivist philosophical paradigms for doing cultural studies and demonstrates how to use these approaches when studying people in different cultures (Chs. 3 & 4). -Helps readers formulate productive research questions, articulate concepts, and understand the role theories play in cultural research (Ch. 5 - 6). -Reviews research designs including case-based and variable-based ones, person-centered ethnography, interviewing, and quantitative studies (Chs. 7 - 10).　 -www.routledge.com/9780415820325/ provides instructors with Power Points, additional references and studies, and questions for discussion and evaluation for each chapter and students with chapter outlines and objectives, key terms and concepts with a hotlink to the definition, and suggested readings and websites. Part 1 explores disciplinary and theoretical thinking to help readers connect different disciplines, theories, and philosophical paradigms in a logical way. Part 2 reviews planning research with an emphasis on defining the research problem. Here readers learn to articulate the purpose of the study and the research questions, work with related conceptual and theoretical foundations, and identify various research strategies including nomothetic and idiographic approaches, variable- and case-based studies, and potential sampling problems. Part 3 reviews the practical aspects of doing cultural research -- how to use various research designs including experimental, quasi-experimental, correlational studies, mixed method designs, and ethnographic and qualitative studies. Methodological problems specific to researching cultural issues such as the equivalence of concepts, the translation of instruments, and verifying measurement invariance are reviewed. Readers are also introduced to ethnography including practical elements such as language training, formal document

Spis treści

Part 1: Thinking and Reflecting  1. Disciplinary thinking: From anthropology to psychology  2. Theoretical thinking: Four perspectives in studying psychology in sociocultural contexts  3. Philosophical thinking: Induction, deduction, and positivism  4. Philosophical thinking: Abduction, retroduction, interpretivism, and realism  Part 2: Planning Research  5. Research problem, purposes, and research questions  6. Working with concepts, terms, and theories  7. Research strategies and designs  Part 3: Practical aspects of doing research  8. The types of studies on culture and psychology  9. Quantitative comparative studies: Equivalence, translation, and measurement invariance  10. Ethnography  11. Ethical concerns Conclusion: Final words of encouragement Index

O autorze

Valery Chirkov is Professor of Psychology at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada.