Developing Cross-Cultural Measurement in Social Work Research and Evaluation: (Pocket Guides to Social Work Research Methods)

Developing Cross-Cultural Measurement in Social Work Research and Evaluation, Second Edition is an applied practice-to-research text, with a focus on developing, assessing, and validating meaningful measurements across cultures and populations. This book deeply examines cultural differences that may present problems with measurements for target populations relevant to social work researchers, and features practical hands-on solutions to managing these problems using advanced quantitative methods. The authors present a step-by step approach, beginning with the conceptualization of measurements for different cultures, the processes involved in identifying item questions, and the quantitative techniques that can be used to validate new or pre-existing measures. This Second Edition also includes sample syntax from publicly available data for social work researchers to learn to conduct these types of analyses with their own research.New to the Second Edition:- Emphasis on Item Response Theory, and a new chapter devoted to the concept. - Increased focus on the process of instrument development, based on real-world examples - in particular, a detailed examination of the development of a new cross-cultural instrument, the Empathy Scale, created and validated by a group of multinational and culturally diverse students from the US, China, Mexico, and Turkey under the supervision of Dr. Tran.- Significant updates of all content to reflect new developments in cross-cultural research across social sciences and psychological disciplines.

Table of Contents:
1. Cultural and Cross-Cultural Research 2. Process and Critical Tasks of Cross-Cultural Research 3. Adopting or Adapting Existing Instruments 4. Assessing and Testing Cross-Cultural Measurement Equivalence Appendix I 5. Item Response Theory in Cross-Cultural Measurement 6. Developing New Instruments: Empathy Scale 7. Concluding Comments Appendix II References Index

About the Author :
Thanh V. Tran, PhD, MA, Professor, School of Social Work, Boston College. Tam H. Nguyen, PhD, MSN/MPH, RN, Assistant Professor, Connell School of Nursing, Boston College. Keith T. Chan, PhD, MSW, Assistant Professor, School of Social Welfare, SUNY Albany.