Abstract
M.A. (Political Science)
Recent studies in a diversity of social science disciplines indicate the
growing importance of cross-cultural attitude surveys; and the central theme
of this dissertation is the methodological implications thereof. This study
aims (1) to make a contribution to the relatively small number of studies ,in
South-Africa on the subject of Political Science research methodology, and'
(2) to analyze systematically the methodological problems of cross-cultural
research into political attitudes.
The research problem was formulated as follows: How should cross-cultural
survey research of a political nature be planned, structured and conducted to
ensure reliability, validity and objectivity? The focus throughout the
dissertation, was on two dimensions of the research process namely (1) research
design and (2) data-collection, the latter being further divided in two main
categories: instrument construction and instrument implementation.
A theoretical framework (Chapter 2) was developed incorporating the different
methodological factors to be taken into: account when designing and implementing
a research project. This framework was applied to (1) survey research in
general (Chapter 3), and (2) cross-cultural political attitude surveys
(Chapter 4), Special attention was given to research conducted in South Africa.
The last chapter contains (1) a summary of the most important considerations
relevant to cross-cultural attitude research, and (2) an overview of the main
problems of cross-cultural political attitude research in South Africa.
The main finding of the study is that in cross-cultural attitude research in
South Africa, too little attention is given to methodological issues - both in
designing and implementing research projects. In particular, the explication
of methodological issues and procedures in research articles and reports is
recommended.