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

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.…