Cross-Cultural Research: Insider/Outsider Dichotomy Reconsidered

The aim of my article is to confront the insider/outsider dichotomy with the present state of cultural research from the meta-analytical perspective. In the beginning, the paper reconstructs classical Robert Merton’s theory of insider/outsider and the research potential of its basic assumption. Then, the emic-/etic approaches, as well as absolutist and constructivist approaches to cross-cultural research, are considered. The four James Bank’s types of cultural researchers and Richard Hanvey’s cultural empathy levels are presented against the background of multicultural reality. Further, the opposition of indigenous epistemology and the Western one is analyzed, as well as potential value of decolonizing methodology is emphasized. Finally, the article brings solid conclusions regarding the importance of the insider/ outsider dichotomy as a tool for understanding the key issues of cross-cultural research even in our current global era.