7024	Assessment
Research Question	The research question seems clear on first reading, but becomes less so as one reads on.  It asks "do nations dominant cultural values affect individuals’ opinions of out-group members … within that nation?"  The index for national cultural values is obviously a constant within nations.  So, this seems to imply two choices, neither of which appears to be the subject of discussion in the topic proposal.  The first choice would be to create an analogous summary index of national out-group opinions and conduct the entire analysis using nations as the unit of analysis, which frankly sounds a questionable exercise (but people do pursue all kinds of analyses using nations as the unit of analysis).  The second choice would be to use a data set combining respondents from different nations, using both nation-level aggregate variables (including dominant cultural values, of course) and individual level variables.  This would be tricky for a variety of reasons, but seems more consistent with the proposed analytical goals.  Other options are probably possible, but these seem the most straightforward.
Relevant Literature	The mentioned publications and plan for further elaboration seem fine.
Causal Interpretations	The topic proposal seems inconsistent on causality.  On the one hand, it tries to fend off any claims to doing a causal analysis.  On the other, its descriptions of the relationships between dominant cultural values and individual attitudes seem to use causal language throughout.  This could use some sorting out.  In particular, it would be good to figure out how individual attitudes across nations can consistently correlate with national dominant values while not being caused by them.  Once you have a clear idea about that alternative, you are likely to find it easier to plan the analysis.
Data	The data seem fine, accepting the inherent limitations of data on attitudes and values, and the unavoidable discrepancies in meanings of such questions presented in different languages in different cultures.
Research Value	The general substantive comments on the research value are fine.  Need to describe its value as a contribution to existing knowledge.
Timetable	This seems reasonable at this point, although the data preparation and analysis could take longer than planned.
Priorities for Developing a Full Draft	You need to work out the unit of analysis issue and its implications for the research plan.  And think a bit harder about causality and how you should cope with it.
Miscellaneous Notes