Doing Cross-Cultural Research: An Introduction

Abstract

Globally, cross-cultural research has become increasingly essential. In multicultural societies like the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, there has been an increasing number of people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Meeting the needs of our multicultural society requires a cultural awareness of the diversity and commonality of people’s beliefs and practices. It is argued that this can be obtained by research, particularly with culturally sensitive approach. Therefore, cross-cultural research is a valuable tool for advancing an awareness of belief systems and practices among diverse cultural groups. The need for culturally competent research is now urgent in view of current social and health policies in many developed countries and their attempts to address the needs of multiethnic populations.