Building Quantitative Cross-Cultural Databases From Ethnographic Records: Promise, Problems and Principles

Joseph Watts*, Joshua Conrad Jackson, Chris Arnison, Elise M. Hamerslag, John H. Shaver, Benjamin Grant Purzycki

*Corresponding author af dette arbejde

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift/Konferencebidrag i tidsskrift /Bidrag til avisTidsskriftartikelForskningpeer review

21 Citationer (Scopus)

Abstract

Quantitative cross-cultural databases can help uncover structure and diversity across human populations. These databases have been constructed using a variety of methodologies and have been instrumental for building and testing theories in the social sciences. The processes and assumptions behind the construction of cross-cultural databases are not always openly discussed by creators or fully appreciated by their users. Here, we scrutinize the processes used to generate quantitative cross-cultural databases, from the point of ethnographic fieldwork to the processing of quantitative cross-cultural data. We outline challenges that arise at each stage of this process and discuss the strengths and limitations of how existing databases have handled these challenges. We suggest a host of best practices for cross-cultural database construction, and stress the importance of coding source meta-data and using this meta-data to identify and adjust for source biases. This paper explicitly discusses the processes, problems, and principles behind cross-cultural database construction, and ultimately seeks to promote rigorous cross-cultural comparative research.

OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftCross-Cultural Research
Vol/bind56
Nummer1
Sider (fra-til)62-94
Antal sider33
ISSN1069-3971
DOI
StatusUdgivet - feb. 2022

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