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Explaining Inconsistencies in the Education Distributions of Ten Cross-National Surveys - the Role of Methodological Survey Characteristics
[journal article]
Abstract Surveys measuring the same concept using the same measure on the same population at the same point in time should result in highly similar results. If this is not the case, this is a strong sign of lacking reliability, resulting in non-comparable data across surveys. Looking at the education variabl... view more
Surveys measuring the same concept using the same measure on the same population at the same point in time should result in highly similar results. If this is not the case, this is a strong sign of lacking reliability, resulting in non-comparable data across surveys. Looking at the education variable, previous research has identified inconsistencies in the distributions of harmonised education variables, using the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), across surveys within the same countries and years. These inconsistencies are commonly explained by differences in the measurement, especially in the response categories of the education question, and in the harmonisation when classifying country-specific education categories into ISCED. However, other methodological characteristics of surveys, which we regard as 'containers' for several characteristics, may also contribute to this finding. We compare the education distributions of nine cross-national surveys with the European Union Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS), which is used as benchmark. This study analyses 15 survey characteristics to better explain the inconsistencies. The results confirm a predominant effect of the measurement instrument and harmonisation. Different sampling designs also explain inconsistencies, but to a lesser degree. Finally, we discuss the results and limitations of the study and provide ideas for improving data comparability.... view less
Keywords
comparative research; international comparison; survey; survey research; education; measurement; measurement instrument; reliability; Eurobarometer; European Social Survey; EVS; ISSP; consistency
Classification
Methods and Techniques of Data Collection and Data Analysis, Statistical Methods, Computer Methods
Free Keywords
cross-national surveys; survey characteristics; European Union Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS); European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC); Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC); Adult Education Survey (AES); European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS); European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS); ZA5236: Eurobarometer 73.2+73.3 (FEB-MAR 2010); ZA4800: European Values Study 2008: Integrated Dataset (EVS 2008); ZA5800: International Social Survey Programme: Health and Health Care - ISSP 2011; ZA5900: International Social Survey Programme: Family and Changing Gender Roles IV - ISSP 2012
Document language
English
Publication Year
2020
Page/Pages
p. 379-409
Journal
Journal of Official Statistics, 36 (2020) 2
DOI
https://doi.org/10.2478/jos-2020-0020
ISSN
2001-7367
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed
Licence
Creative Commons - Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0