Research Paradigms for Studying Ethnic Minority Families Within and Across Groups

There is increasing recognition both of the dearth of research dealing with ethnic minorities (Graham, 1992) and of the need for greater attention to culture and ethnicity in psychological research (Betancourt & Lopez, 1993). However, in spite of the awareness of its importance, there is very little guidance available to researchers on how to carry out such research. Research-methods textbooks do not address the topic, and researchers are often unclear about how to incorporate the study of ethnicity into their own work. Appropriate paradigms and models are very much needed to deal with the complex conceptual and methodological problems raised by the study of ethnic minority children and families.