Abstract
The main challenge in cross-national comparative survey research is to transfer the content of survey questions and response categories from the language and culture of the source questionnaire into the languages and cultures of the countries participating in the survey. In the case of questions about attitudes and behaviour, this transfer takes the form of translation. However, socio-demographic variables cannot simply be translated. Rather, they must be harmonised. In addition to providing an introduction to this topic, Chap. 1 gives an overview of the organisation and content of the book: An introduction to the technique of harmonisation in Chap. 2 is followed in Chap. 3 by a presentation of currently available measurement instruments, and in Chap. 4 by an outline of the main data sources for background variables. In Chap. 5, the authors develop a set of instruments for the measurement of six core social variables. These instruments are then compiled into a questionnaire in Chap. 6, which the authors propose could serve as ‘demographic standards for Europe’. The book concludes with a discussion in Chap. 7 of comparability problems within and across international surveys.
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Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik, J.H.P., Warner, U. (2014). Harmonising Demographic and Socio-Economic Variables. In: Harmonising Demographic and Socio-Economic Variables for Cross-National Comparative Survey Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7238-0_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7238-0_1
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