STATISTICAL SOURCES FOR COMPARATIVE EUROPEAN SOCIAL-RESEARCH

This article gives an overview of main national and international stat istical sources as a basis for comparative European social research. T he availability of statistical sources, such as population censuses, m icro-censuses, and different types of household sample surveys (e.g. l abour force survey, household budget survey) is described for western and eastern European countries. In addition, information on existing h armonized data from such supra- and international organizations as the European Union or the Nordic Council is presented. Surveys and social data emerging from national social reporting activities are classifie d. In a last section problems of access to statistical surveys, especi ally from the European Union, and new forms of access to national micr o data are discussed.