The operationalisation of the theoretical predictions always limits one’s research to the specific settings one’s study is conducted in. The following subsections examine the notable strengths and weaknesses of the present research.
5.3.1
Sample
Across both studies, there was a total of 73 participants from 21 different Antarctic stations, operated by 10 different National Programmes with winter-over experience spanning over almost 60 years. This gives a diverse sample and allows for greater generalisation of the results compared to many previous studies conducted in this field. Other large studies, with sample size of 657 (Palinkas et al., 2000), 110 (Gunderson, 1966) or 103 participants (Sarris, 2007), used participants from only one National Antarctic Programme. It is worth noting that though using a sample from only one National Antarctic Programme seems to be the norm, some studies have included a number of programmes (COMNAP, 2016). The discrepancy between the National Antarctic Programmes represented by the sample and the population of winter-overs might pose a problem as the concept of space, privacy, crowding and isolation might greatly differ from one culture to another. Hall (1966) described the culturally different conceptions of space, privacy or crowding between countries such as Japan, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. Nowadays, even globalisation has not homogenised the world population since differences in need for privacy can even be observed between cultures within the same country, such as Iran (Gharaei, Rafieian, & Jalalkamali, 2012). For this reason, it is difficult to generalise the results of Study 2 alone to the population.
So, while Study 1 was biased toward German and Norwegian participants, Study 2 was biased toward English speakers. It is notable, though, that most of the results have been replicated from one study to the other. This strongly suggests that the results might not be as culture-specific as one might think, though both cultures are still European. Despite the presence of participants from China, France, India and Uruguay, those nationalities, and others, were under-represented in the present studies. Further research that includes a greater diversity and more representative proportions of nationalities is needed to further validate the present model.
Finally, a self-selection bias might have played a significant role in the present studies. It is likely that individuals with a high need for privacy are generally less likely to be willing to take part in studies, especially in a setting like an Antarctic station where they could easily be identified. Because the need for privacy and the way people cope with the lack of it was of interest for the present research, it is possible that the sample did not cover the full range of privacy need, and subsequent adjustment and behaviour, that is present in Antarctic stations. Also, by recruiting former winter-over, it is possible
83 that Study 2 only drew individuals who had a good experience in Antarctica. The study having been advertised through clubs and organisations related to Antarctica, it is possible that individuals who had negative experience never joined such groups and were less likely to be exposed to the advertisement. This highlights the limitations of generalising such small samples to the greater population.
5.3.2
Language
The survey used in Study 1 was translated into Chinese and German to accommodate those participants. Other respondents had to fill in the survey in English, despite it not being their first language; for example, as was the case for the Norwegian participants. This was due to limited resources to conduct the study and, for the Norwegian participants, an expected high level of fluency in English. This was supported by the EF English Proficiency Index which ranked Norway at fourth place of the most English fluent countries in the world in 2016 (excluding most English speaking countries) (EF English Proficiency Index, n.d.). All this meant that a Bokmål version of the survey was unnecessary. For those participants, and those of Study 2 whose first language was also not English, filling in a survey in an acquired language might present some biases and extra challenges in terms of interpretation. As already noted, it is known that the concepts of space or the perception of crowding are culturally sensitive (Hall, 1966).
Different ways to achieve a good translation have been suggested by McGorry (2000). She suggests that back-translation might be one of the best approaches and this is the procedure that was used in Study 1. However, she also points out the issue regarding literal translation. For instance, there are occasions when a phrase could be translated literally in another language but may not make much sense but still be accurately back-translated. To overcome such issues, a more complex approach has been suggested that involves recording observers and the use of expert committees (Beaton, Bombardier, Guillemin, & Ferraz, 2000). This, however, is a procedure that requires more resources than many researchers may possess.
5.3.3
Self-report
Because all measures of adjustment were self-report, including measures of sleep and cognitive impairment, it raises the question as to what extent individuals can have enough self-awareness when it comes to such constructs. The present studies relies exclusively on self-report measures, which assumes that people have enough insight to accurately report on those variables. However, it could be that one who has impaired cognitive abilities does not realise that his or her capacities are diminished. As a result, a report that their cognitive functions are as usual would not reflect reality. Though this discrepancy could be interesting to investigate, particularly in conjunction with objective measures of sleep quality and cognitive functioning, the present research was concerned with individual’s
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perception of their experience. Even though one’s poor sleep quality could affect one’s daily functioning and mood without the person being aware of it, the present studies only looked at one’s perception of his or her sleep quality. This is a limitation, in that it is possible for some people to perceive themselves as perfectly adapted to an Antarctic station and not realise that their daily functioning greatly suffers from a misfit in this environment, leading to poor performance. For this reason, future studies could benefit from more direct and objective measures of such constructs.