Volume 1 Issue 1 (2025)

Integrating survey microdata with auxiliary sources—such as administrative records, metadata, and paradata—significantly enhances the analytical potential of quantitative social science research. This article examines the methodological frameworks of three major international surveys: the EU Gender-Based Violence (EU-GBV) survey, the European Social Survey (ESS), and the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). By analyzing their approaches to data collection, management, dissemination and integration, we explore how microdata, paradata, metadata, and administrative records are structured, utilized, and aligned with the principles of FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) and Open Data. Our comparative analysis highlights key differences in data accessibility, interoperability, and technological infrastructure, reflecting variations in methodological design and institutional priorities. Metadata emerges as a crucial element for ensuring data transparency, documentation, and reusability, while paradata plays a vital role in monitoring microdata quality and optimizing fieldwork procedures. Administrative data, in turn, provide valuable macro-level insights that support multi-level analyses and a more comprehensive understanding of complex social phenomena. Furthermore, we discuss the role of research infrastructures and international organizations in fostering standardized frameworks for data integration. By synthesizing these insights, this study contributes to ongoing discussions on best practices for managing and integrating complex datasets in social science research. Ultimately, we argue that strengthening these integration efforts can enhance the comparability, transparency, and efficiency of international survey methodologies.

 The adolescent mental health crisis in Europe has reached critical levels, with rising rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide. The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed heavily to this crisis since it put a kink in the education, socialization, and general well-being of adolescents. The article discusses the causes of the mental health crisis of adolescents in Europe and pays attention to pandemic influence, gender-related mental health issues, social-economic inequalities, and the influence of social media. It is found to be the most vulnerable age, at which girls themselves are not immune to mental health problems and body image pressures and other social conditions that factor heavily. Besides, the access to mental health services by adolescents in the low socio-economic status is more problematic, which widens the disparities in mental health outcomes. The research denotes the necessity of special measures, an increase in access to services, gender-sensitive initiatives, and more mental health education in education. Finally, the article states that there is an urgent need to fight against these increasing challenges and lessen the effects of mental illnesses on European youth in the long run.

This article explores the challenges and opportunities associated with the integration of asylum seekers into the German labour market. Asylum seekers are a potential workforce that is underutilized in Germany, given that the country experiences a labour shortage in the current population due to population ageing and the high need for a skilled workforce. The article reviews the legal, social and economic impediments to meaningful employment by asylum seekers, such as bureaucratic obstacles, language barriers, discrimination, as well as qualification mismatches. Also, it determines the main opportunities which include the needs of workers in the fields such as medical, structure building and service industries, value of vocational training, learning languages and the public-private collaborations. The article suggests several recommendations to be made through the integration of asylum seekers in a country, such as easing the restrictions on work permits, increasing outreach in terms of education and training, battling discrimination in the workplace, and growing the social support system, among others, based on the analysis of the case studies and in comparison, to the rest of countries in Europe. The article ends with the view that through the appropriate policy changes, the presence of asylum seekers will be able to play a great role in the economy and social integrity of Germany.

As climate change accelerates, European cities face an increasing threat from extreme heat events. However, the risks and impacts of heatwaves are not distributed equally across urban populations. The paper explores the relation between heatwave resiliency and social vulnerabilities in four cities within Europe, Paris, Athens, Madrid, and Berlin, through a mixed-method investigation involving spatial, demographic, and policy analysis. The results show that the heat-vulnerable neighbourhoods are always the same as the low-income, elderly, and migrant communities, who, most of the time, do not have access to adaptive resources, including green spaces, cooling centres, and air conditioning. Although policies have committed to making plans for climate adaptation, the plans often lack incorporation of equity-based actions, spatial targeting or accountability mechanisms. The research proposes a paradigm shift to just climate adaptation and states that to enable the success of resilience efforts to limit climate-related harms, there is a necessity to recognize the investment priorities, inclusive governance, and grassroots planning. Focusing on social justice in the urban heat strategies, European cities can achieve more sustainable and fair climate visions in the future.

The post-2015 migration crisis in Europe has catalyzed significant shifts in political, social, and cultural dynamics, particularly regarding Islamophobia and xenophobia. Existing fears and the development of new divisions among European societies have been reinforced by the migration of more than one million refugees who are predominantly Muslims. This article analyses how the confluence of migration flows, political rhetoric, media images, as well as popular opinion has led to the rise of Islamophobia and xenophobia in Europe. It contends that the phenomena are not merely reactions to the demographic change but are constructed through political discourses, media discourses and institutional policies. Through the examination of the role of right-wing populist movements, mainstreaming of anti-migrant discourse, and institutionalisation of exclusionary policies, the paper will assist in understanding the dynamics of the role that migration plays as a significant inclusion and exclusion battlefield of national identity and security. The paper also discusses how civil society resistance and solidarity emerged as an alternative to the division and fear promoted by political elites. Finally, the article also recommends not only more inclusive migration policies and media literacy campaigns but also anti-discrimination actions to curb the worsening Islamophobia and xenophobia in post-2015 London.