Advances in Cross-National Comparison: A European Working Book for Demographic and Socio-Economic Variables

Jürgen H.P. Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik; Christof Wolf

ISBN 10: 0306477319 / ISBN 13: 9780306477317

Published by Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers, 2003

About this Item

Hardcover, ix + 413 pages, NOT ex-library. A very good, clean and bright copy, with unmarked text, free of inscriptions and stamps. Published without a dust jacket. -- This is a practical guide for social scientists engaged in the complex task of harmonizing survey data from different European countries. The work directly confronts the core problem of comparative research: that key socio-economic variables like education, occupation, and income are measured differently across national contexts, making direct comparison invalid. The book offers a systematic framework and concrete strategies for achieving functional equivalence, focusing on "ex-post" harmonization where data has already been collected. The analysis details the major international classification systems, such as ISCED for education and ISCO for occupations, and provides step-by-step procedures for recoding national-specific data into a single, comparable variable. This is an essential toolkit for any researcher seeking to conduct valid and reliable quantitative analysis using datasets like the European Social Survey or Eurobarometer. -- Contents: Measuring Demographic and Socio-Economic Variables in Cross-National Research: An Overview; -- I. Harmonising Demographic and Socio-Economic Variables: Objectives: -- Harmonising Data in Official Statistics: Development, Procedures, and Data Quality; The ISSP and its Approach to Background Variables; Harmonising Sampling Frames and Indicators in International Market Research: A German Perspective; -- II. International Standards for Demographic and Socio-Economic Variables: -- Harmonisation of Socio-Economic Variables in EU Statistics; Appendix: EU-SILC Materials from the Pilot Study in 2002; ESOMAR Standard Demographic Classification: A System of International Socio-Economic Classification of Respondents to Survey Research; -- III. International Instruments for Selected Variables: -- International Classification of Status in Employment, ICSE-93; International Statistical Comparisons of Occupational and Social Structures: Problems, Possibilities and the Role of ISCO-88; Three Internationally Standardised Measures for Comparative Research on Occupational Status; International Standard Classification of Education, ISCED 1997; CASMIN Educational Classification in International Comparative Research; Classification of Education as a Sociological Background Characteristic; -- IV. Suggested Conventions for Selected Variables for Which Comparative Instruments Do Not Exist: -- How to Measure Sex/Gender and Age; How to Measure Race and Ethnicity; How to Measure Household and Family; How to Measure (New) Work Situations; How to Measure Income; -- V. Cross-Cultural Comparisons: Empirical Applications: -- Using CASMIN: The Effect of Education on Wages in Britain and Germany; Education and Unemployment Risks among Market Entrants: A Comparison of France, the United Kingdom and West Germany; Validity of Income Measurements in Comparative Perspective: Non-Responses and Biases; -- VI. Harmonising Demographic and Socio-Economic Variables: Synthesis: -- Comparing Demographic and Socio-Economic Variables Across Nations: Synthesis and Recommendations; Index.

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: Advances in Cross-National Comparison: A European Working Book for Demographic and Socio-Economic Variables
• Publisher: Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers
• Publication Date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0306477319
• ISBN 13: 9780306477317
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

The book consists of five parts and a concluding chapter. Part 1 covers general problems and presents solutions for the harmonisation of data from different national and/or cultural contexts. In the second part EUROSTAT and ESOMAR present their established standard instruments. Tested instruments each covering one variable (i.e. occupation, education) are presented in the third part. The fourth part again includes suggested tools for the harmonisation of single variables for which standardised instruments are not yet available (i.e. age, religion, ethnicity, household, family, income). The last part presents selected empirical analyses demonstrating the use and fruitfulness of instruments presented before.

This book is mainly written for two groups. First, researchers and practitioners involved in comparative research in Europe. Second, researchers working with data of the statistical offices of European countries and data from institutions of the European Union.