For example, when making decisions concerning how to operationalize cultural groups, researchers often believe that differences exist between them (which is why they are conducting the study in the first place), and conduct their studies to demonstrate that those differences actually do exist. The findings from cross-cultural com-parisons can also be used in a negative way to oppress members of certain groups.
NOTES - Be able to identify and differentiate the major types of cross-cultural research: cross-cultural validation studies, indigenous cultural studies, cross-cultural comparisons.
Unpackaging studies are extensions of basic cross-cultural comparisons but that include the measurement of a variable that assesses the active cultural ingredients that are thought to produce the differences on the variable (s) being compared across cultures. That is, in unpackaging studies, culture as an unspecified variable is replaced by more specific variables to truly explain cultural differences. The underlying thought to these studies is that cultures are like onions, where layer after layer needs to be peeled off until nothing is left.
cultural attribution fallacies: inferring that culture had a role in producing the differences found in the study
Be able to identify the five subjective dimensions of culture: 1) values, 2) beliefs, 3) norms, 4) attitudes, and 5) worldviews.
In the United States, it is impossible to conduct research involving human participants without first receiving approval from an institutional review board (IRB), and most IRB guidelines require that researchers obtain consent from the participants before collecting data. These procedures, however, do not exist in most countries outside the United States. In fact, in most places outside the United States, not only is submitting a research proposal for review unnecessary but obtaining consent from human participants is unnecessary, as well. This raises ethical dilemmas for researchers: Do we obtain consent from participants in cultures in which it is not necessary to obtain consent, or even frowned upon?
To be sure, we do not argue for a ban on research on sensitive topics. We do, however, suggest that such research must be undertaken with care, precision, and sensitivity for the topics studied vis-à-vis the cultures in question. Involving cultural experts as collaborators in the research, recruiting participants who participate without coercion with full informed consent, and interpreting findings in a culturally relevant manner are steps by which researchers can make progress in studying difficult topics.