Surveying Cultures (PDF)

Surveying Cultures uniquely employs techniques rooted in
survey methodology to discover cultural patterns in social science
research. Examining both classical and emerging methods that are
used to survey and assess differing norms among populations, the
book successfully breaks new ground in the field, introducing a
theory of measurement for ethnographic studies that employs the
consensus-as-culture model.

The book begins with a basic overview of cross-cultural
measurement of sentiments and presents innovative and sophisticated
analyses of measurement issues and of homogeneity among
respondents. Subsequent chapters explore topics that are at the
core of successful data collection and analysis in culture studies,
including:

* The role of bipolar scales and Internet data collection in
measuring sentiments

* Key methodological variables that determine the quality of
quantitative data, including measurement errors, validity, and
reliability

* New approaches to reliability and several new methods of
assessing a respondent's degree of inculcation into group
culture

* Sampling, coverage, nonresponse, and measurement errors, with an
in-depth discussion of their occurrence in culture surveys, their
impact assessments, and how current measurement techniques are
constructed to help prevent these kinds of errors

* Common problems often encountered in the acquisition and
communication of data, including identifying error variances,
interpreting gender differences in responses, and defining the
difference between cultures and subcultures

Throughout the book, each topic is accompanied by a review of
related methodological literature. For many of the presented
concepts, the author includes a formal analysis of the related
issues in measuring cultural norms and reports on analyses. Each
chapter concludes with an organized list of major findings as well
as an insightful outline of specific recommendations regarding
practical problems in culture studies.

Surveying Cultures serves as a valuable supplemental book
to courses on survey and research methods at the
upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. It is also an excellent
reference for researchers in the fields of sociology, anthropology,
psychology, and political science.