Cross-Cultural Research Methods

Carol R. Ember is executive director of the Human Relations Area Files at Yale University. Melvin Ember is president of the Human Relations Area Files at Yale University. They have co-authored numerous books, including the Choice Outstanding Academic Title award-winning first edition of Cross-Cultural Research Methods and the textbooks Anthropology and Cultural Anthropology, both in their twelfth edition.

Carol and Mel Ember outline the basic logic and procedures of cross-cultural research in a clear, readable, and jargon-free manner. One of the volume's greatest strengths is the many examples provided, which serve as concrete illustrations of the principles described in the text. The descriptions of statistical procedures provide enough detail to explain the utility of each statistic, but do not get bogged down in details. The new chapter on multivariate methods provides a brief but valuable overview of regression. The chapter on minimizing error is, I think, unique in books on social science methods, and should be required reading for all anthropologists, regardless of the data with which they work. This is an outstanding little book. I highly recommend it.

• Chapter 1 Preface Chapter 2 Chapter 1. The Logic of Cross-Cultural Research Chapter 3 Chapter 2. The Research Question Chapter 4 Chapter 3. Theories and Hypotheses Chapter 5 Chapter 4. The Art of Measurement Chapter 6 Chapter 5. Minimizing Error Chapter 7 Chapter 6. Sampling Chapter 8 Chapter 7. Coding Data Chapter 9 Chapter 8. Basics of Statistical Analysis Chapter 10 Chapter 9. Reliability Chapter 11 Chapter 10. Multivariate Analysis Chapter 12 Chapter 11. Summing Up Chapter 13 Appendix: Using the Human Relations Area Files Collections Chapter 14 Glossary