ABSTRACT
As indicated in chapter 1, a perfect cross-national study would have used precisely identical procedures in all countries. Unfortunately, this was impossible in all of the countries in this study for a variety of reasons. Most important was the fact that the collaborating teams of investigators in the different countries consisted of seasoned, established investigators with their own investments in varying theoretical points of view and research agendas. This couldn't help but influence implementation of procedures to some degree. However, in most countries any modifications in the procedures were only minor, and it is felt that the benefits achieved by having indigenous investigators carry out the research in each country far outweighed the disadvantage of not having precisely an exact replication. Another limitation on exact replication was the difficulty of exact translation of the procedures from American English to the appropriate language for each country. There were also inevitable differences in subject availability and mobility, parental approval for participation in the study and differences in school routines. However, despite these differences, which are more fully described in the appropriate chapters, the goal of exact replication in five countries was largely realized. It was originally intended that data from a sixth country, The Netherlands, be included in this book. One of the major reasons why that became impossible was that our colleagues in that country did not believe it appropriate to use the same tests and procedures as collaborators in the other countries. As a result, their results require a monograph in itself for presentation.
