IN RESEARCH ON COMPARATIVE CRIMINAL LAW, DIFFERENCES IN JURIDICAL SYSTEMS ARE IMPORTANT FOR TWO REASONS: (1) TO DETERMINE THE ROLE OF LAW, IN GENERAL, IN EXERCISING SOCIAL CONTROL, AND (2) TO EXAMINE LEGAL SYSTEMS OR SPECIFIC RULES AND LEGAL CONCEPTS. VARIATIONS IN LEGAL CONCEPTS AND METHODS RESULT FROM DIFFERENCES IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE AND IN THE TRAINING AND PERSONALITY OF PERSONNEL. CROSS CULTURAL RESEARCHERS ARE CONFRONTED WITH MANY OF THE SAME VARIATIONS AND PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED BY SOCIAL RESEARCHERS, INCLUDING THE DESIGN OF AN APPROPRIATE TESTING INSTRUMENT, TRAINING AND SKILLS OF INTERVIEWERS, SAMPLING PROBLEMS, AND THE INTERPRETATION AND CONCEPTUALIZATION OF RAW DATA. THE MOST DIFFICULT ASPECT OF CROSS CULTURAL RESEARCH IS THAT SEVERAL SURVEYS MUST BE INTEGRATED SO THAT A RESEARCHER CAN MAKE COMPARISONS BETWEEN COUNTRIES. THE FOLLOWING MAJOR PROBLEM AREAS EXIST IN CONDUCTING CROSS CULTURAL SURVEY WORK IN CRIMINOLOGY: EQUIVALENCE OF STIMULUS MATERIAL, RESPONSE BIAS, EQUIVALENCE OF INTERVIEWERS, ORGANIZATIONAL PROBLEMS, TEMPORAL EQUIVALENCE, EQUIVALENCE OF MEANING, AND SAMPLING PROBLEMS. EQUIVALENCE, OR COMPARABILITY ACROSS CULTURES OF SOCIOLOGICAL CATEGORIES, IS POSSIBLE IF ONE IS ABLE TO DESIGN A STUDY FROM THE OUTSET AS A CROSS CULTURAL STUDY THAT INTIMATELY INVOLVES RESEARCHERS FROM EACH PARTICIPATING COUNTRY. FURTHER COMPARATIVE CRIMINOLOGICAL RESEARCH SHOULD CONCENTRATE MORE UPON SOCIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF CRIME CAUSATION AND CLASSIFICATION. REFERENCES ARE CITED. (DEP)