EMM Post-Harmonized
Survey Data Bank

Introduction

The Ethnic and Migrant Minorities (EMM) Post-Harmonized Survey Data Bank aims to facilitate the reuse of independently produced surveys by integrating them into a set of single, standardized datasets. The post-harmonization procedures are fully documented in publicly accessible Stata code, ensuring transparency, reproducibility, and comparability across the pooled datasets. The overarching goal is to enhance the reuse of survey data and to improve the accuracy and comparability of knowledge on the economic, social, and political integration and inclusion of EMMs across Europe.

It is a FAIR-enabling tool (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) that supports the advancement of Open Science/Data initiatives in EMM and migration studies.

The tool is currently available in a pilot version. This means that, currently, users can explore and analyze a limited number of post-harmonized datasets, with more to come soon.

The EMM Post-Harmonized Survey Data Bank is a key output of Task 2.3 of the CHIST-ERA-funded project OPENMIN, “Consolidating Open Science and Data Initiatives on Ethnic and Migrant Minorities in Europe” (2025). It has been coordinated and developed by a team based at CEE (Centre d’études européennes et de politique comparée) of Sciences Po, led by Laura Morales, with the technical work led by Dimitrios Rafail Tservenis.

A first pilot on EMM survey data post-harmonization was carried out within WP3 of CA16111-ETHMIGSURVEYDATA COST Action, in collaboration with the ANR-funded FAIRETHMIGQUANT project and the Swiss National Science Foundation project ‘Is the Integration of Muslim Migrants More Difficult? Unpacking the Differences of the Social, Economic, Civic, and Political Integration of Muslim and Non-Muslim Migrants in Switzerland in Comparative Perspective’.

This pilot, coordinated by Laura Morales (CEE, Sciences Po) and Natalia Malancu (University of Geneva) led to the development of a post-harmonization workflow and tested its feasibility using surveys focusing on the topic of migrants’ social ties and civic participation that were undertaken at the subnational level (municipalities or metropolitan areas).

Expanding the work from this first pilot, the work undertaken in the context of the OPENMIN project has completed the post-harmonization of the subnational surveys as well as initiated the work to extend post-harmonization of surveys also focusing on migrants’ social ties and civic participation at the national level (countries). Additionally, a second pilot has been initiated and completed to post-harmonize national-level surveys focusing on the discrimination of EMMs.  

At present (May 2026), two post-harmonized datasets are ready and included in this EMM post-harmonized survey data bank: 

(1) The civic and political participation (subnational level) post-harmonised dataset; 

(2) The experiences and perceptions of discrimination against EMMs post-harmonised dataset (national level). 

Methodology

The EMM Post-Harmonized Survey Data Bank pools quantitative surveys conducted among EMM (sub)populations that meet the following criteria:

  • Fielded since at least January 2000;
  • Including a substantial set of questions on the given topic;
  • With sample sizes that were at least around 300-500 respondents (for subnational level surveys) or around 800-1,000 (for national level surveys);
  • Conducted in at least one of the countries covered by the EMM Survey Registry (see the full list of countries here); and
  • Implemented at either the national or subnational level.


To produce each post-harmonized survey dataset, the following main steps are undertaken:

  1. Identifying surveys for inclusion;
  2. Specifying target variables;
  3. Identifying question items corresponding to the target variables;
  4. Obtaining data matrices;
  5. Constructing target variable measures and the accompanying codebook; and
  6. Building the post-harmonized dataset and documenting data transformations using Stata do-files.


Detailed information on the methodology used to produce and add surveys to the collection is available in the following documents: (forthcoming)

  • D2.3 Creating the EMM Post-Harmonized Survey Data Bank
  • EMM Post-Harmonized Survey Data Bank Data Management Plan (DMP)
  • Workflow for creating a post-harmonized survey dataset to add to the EMM Post-Harmonized Survey Data Bank

 

If you have feedback or suggestions for essential improvements, please send them to ethmigsurveydata@sciencespo.fr with the subject line: “Feedback on EMM Post-Harmonized Survey Data Bank.”

Available post-harmonized survey datasets

A. Civic and political integration of EMMs (subnational level)

Brief description:
This cross-national dataset compiles survey data on several aspects of the lives and experiences of ethnic and migrant minorities (EMMs), including associational involvement and membership; non-electoral and electoral political behaviour; political interest and knowledge; civic and political attitudes; media use and consumption; identity and belonging; social attitudes; religion and religious practices; and migration trajectories.

Cite and Reuse

  • Post-harmonized dataset citation: Pending
  • Data access and license conditions: Pending

 

The dataset postharmonizes and pools the following surveys:

1. LOCALMULTIDEM: Multicultural Democracy and Immigrants’ Social Capital in Europe: Participation, Organisational Networks, and Public Policies at the Local Level (2004–2008)

This is a cross-national, individual-level survey conducted between 2004 and 2008 across ten major European cities: Budapest (HU), London (UK), Lyon (FR), Milan (IT), Barcelona and Madrid (ES), Geneva and Zurich (CH), Stockholm (SE), and Oslo (NO). In subsequent years, two additional waves were carried out in two more cities—Brussels (BE) in 2009 and Turin (IT) in 2014—using, to a great extent, the same methodology and questionnaire as the original survey. The survey captures the civic, political, and social lives of immigrant and native-origin individuals, offering one of the richest cross-national resources on political integration processes in Europe.

Data citation(s):

2. Immigrant Citizens Survey (ICS)

The Immigrant Citizens Survey (ICS) was conducted in 15 European cities, including Antwerp, Brussels, and Liège in Belgium; Lyon and Paris in France; Berlin and Stuttgart in Germany; Budapest in Hungary; Milan and Naples in Italy; Faro, Lisbon, and Setúbal in Portugal; and Barcelona and Madrid in Spain.

The project was jointly coordinated by the King Baudouin Foundation and the Migration Policy Group.

National-level scientific and polling partners:

  1. Belgium: Université Libre de Bruxelles and IPSOS Belgium
  2. France: Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques, IPSOS France, and France terre d’asile
  3. Germany: Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration and IFAK Institut
  4. Hungary, MTA Etnikai-nemzeti Kisebbségkutató Intézet, ICCR Budapest Alapítvány, and Menedék Hungarian Association for Migrants
  5. Italy: Fondazione Iniziative e Studi sulla Multietnicità (ISMU)
  6. Portugal: the High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue, Centro de Estudos de Opinião Pública, and Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian
  7. Spain, the University of Leicester, Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas, and Centre d’estudis internacionals (Barcelona)

3. The integration of the Second Generation (TIES) (2006-2008)

The TIES cross-national survey targeted second-generation Turks, Moroccans and former Yugoslavians in fifteen European cities: Amsterdam, Rotterdam (the Netherlands); Antwerp, Brussels (Belgium); Paris, Strasbourg (France); Barcelona, Madrid (Spain); Basel, Zurich (Switzerland); Linz, Vienna (Austria); Berlin, Frankfurt (Germany); and Stockholm (Sweden), between 2006 and 2008.

Project coordinators:
Maurice Crul and Jens Schneider, Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies (IMES), University of Amsterdam

Overall fieldwork coordinator:
Liesbeth Heering, Jeannette Schoorl and George Groenewold, from the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI)

National-level coordinators:
Institut National d’Etudes Démographique (INED)

Country-specific fieldwork coordinators:
Rosa Aparicio Gómez, Institute for Studies on Migrations (IEM), Comillas Pontifical University; Rosita Fibbi, Swiss Forum for Migration and Population Studies (SFM); Liesbeth Heering and Jeannette Schoorl, Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI); Barbara Herzog Punzenberger, Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW); Karen Phalet and Marc Swyngedouw, The Center for Sociological Research and Methodology, University of Leuven; Patrick Simon and Christelle Hamel, Institut National d’Etudes Démographique (INED); Charles Westin, Alireza Behtoui and Ali Osman, Centre for Research in International Migration and Ethnic Relations (CEIFO), Stockholm University; Maren Wilmes and Michael Bommes, Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies (IMIS), Osnabrück University

Data citations (for publicly available datasets through a data archive):
TIES-NL: N.E. Hornstra; G. Groenewold; L. Lessard-Phillips, 2007, “The Integration of the European Second Generation in Amsterdam and Rotterdam (TIES-NL), 2006-2007.”, https://doi.org/10.17026/DANS-ZKK-W38F, DANS Data Station Social Sciences and Humanities, V4, UNF:6:Ig/yKrr1ownR8nnXBWudwA== [fileUNF] 
TIES-DE: Pott, A. (2014). The Integration of the European Second Generation in Frankfurt and Berlin (TIES Germany) – reduced version (ZA5616; Version 1.0.0) [Data set]. GESIS, Cologne. https://doi.org/10.4232/1.11897

 

4. Electoral Participation of Immigrants in the Local Elections of the Canton of Geneva (2015)

Data citation(s):

  • Didier Ruedin, Rosita Fibbi Carton: Participation politique des immigrés dans le canton de Genève – 2015 [Dataset]. Université de Neuchâtel – Faculté des lettres et des sciences humaines – Forum suisse pour l’étude des migrations et de la population – SFM. Distributed by FORS, Lausanne, 2016. https://doi.org/10.23662/FORS-DS-814-1 
  • Ruedin, Didier, 2016, “Electoral Participation of Immigrants in the Local Elections of the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland in 2015”, https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/QEMYEB, Harvard Dataverse, V4, UNF:6:mN2B1yqBH72WLQJ+3mKn/Q== [fileUNF]

 

5. Duisburg Citizens Survey (2004 wave):

Data citation:
Stadt Duisburg, Amt für Statistik, Stadtforschung und Europaangelegenheiten (2007). Duisburg Citizen Survey (Autumn 2004, Foreign population) (ZA4522; Version 1.0.0) [Data set]. GESIS, Cologne. https://doi.org/10.4232/1.4522

 

6. Duisburg Citizens Survey (2006 wave)

Data citation:
Stadt Duisburg, Amt für Statistik, Stadtforschung und Europaangelegenheiten (2007). Duisburg Citizen Survey (Autumn 2006, Foreign population) (ZA4524; Version 1.0.0) [Data set]. GESIS, Cologne.
https://doi.org/10.4232/1.4524

 

B. Experiences and Perceptions of Discrimination against EMMs (national level)

  • Brief description: This cross-national dataset compiles survey data from multiple national and cross-national studies, conducted between 2008 and 2024, on discrimination-related variables capturing ethnic and migrant minorities’ self-reported experiences of discrimination and the attributed reasons for such experiences, including ethnicity or ethnic origin, religion, gender, age, and disability.

Cite and Reuse

  • Post-harmonized dataset citation: Pending
  • Data access and license conditions: Pending

 

The dataset postharmonizes and pools the following surveys:

  1. Trajectories and Origins (TeO): Editions 1 & 2

TeO is a longitudinal survey designed to examine the life trajectories of individuals in France with a migration background. TeO1 was conducted in 2008-2009 among 14,122 respondents, while TeO2 was carried out between July 2019 and November 2020 among 27,269 respondents in metropolitan France. Both surveys were jointly administered by the Institut national d’études démographiques (INED) and Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques (INSEE). The surveys collect information on experiences of discrimination attributed to ethnic or national origin, religion, gender, age, and disability. Additional data cover access to housing, education, employment, public services, health, and social relationships. The two waves differ in questionnaire structure, reference periods, and response formats.

Data citation(s):

    • INED, & INSEE. (2008). Trajectoires et origines, enquête sur la diversité des populations en France – 2008 [Trajectories and Origins, survey on population diversity in France – 2008] (Data set). ADISP (Distributor). https://doi.org/10.13144/lil-0494 
    • INED, & INSEE. (2023). Trajectoires et origines 2, enquête sur la diversité des populations en France – 2019-2020 [Trajectories and Origins 2, survey on population diversity in France – 2019-2020] (Data set). PROGEDO-ADISP (Distributor). https://doi.org/10.13144/lil-1575 
  • Citation for related publication(s):
  • Beauchemin, C., Ichou, M., Simon, P., & the TeO2 survey design group. (2023). Trajectoires et Origines 2019-2020 (TeO2) : présentation d’une enquête sur la diversité des populations en France [Trajectories and Origins 2019-2020 (TeO2): Presentation of a survey on population diversity in France]. Population, 78(1), 11–28. https://doi.org/10.3917/popu.2301.0011

 

  1. Second European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey (EU-MIDIS II)

EU-MIDIS II was conducted by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) in 2016 and covered all 28 Member States of the European Union with a sample of approximately 26,000 individuals from ethnic and migrant populations. The survey employs a standardized set of items on perceived discrimination across multiple life domains: employment, housing, education, healthcare, and access to public and private services. The survey measures experiences of discrimination based on ethnic origin, migrant background, religion, gender, age, disability, and sexual orientation. Data were collected on discrimination in both the last 12 months and the last 5 years. The survey includes information on attributed reasons for discrimination, criminal victimization, awareness of rights, and social participation.

Data citation(s):

    • European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), Vienna, Austria (2020). Second European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey (EU-MIDIS II), 2016 (ZA6703; Version 1.0.0) [Data set]. GESIS, Cologne. https://doi.org/10.4232/1.13514 

 

  1. British Election Study Ethnic Minority Survey (EMBES)

EMBES is a survey conducted in 2010 in Great Britain targeting ethnic minorities, including individuals of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Black Caribbean, and Black African background or ancestry. The survey employed a two-step structure for measuring discrimination. Initial filter questions determine whether discrimination was experienced, followed by items that identify attributed reasons for discrimination. 

Data citation(s):

    • Fisher, S., Heath, A., Sanders, D., Sobolewska, M. (2012). British Election Study Ethnic Minority Survey, 2010. [data collection]. UK Data Service. SN: 6970, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-6970-1 

 

  1. Migration Mobility Survey (MMS), Switzerland

The MMS is a nationally representative longitudinal survey conducted biannually since 2016 by the NCCR – on the move, a research center of the University of Bern. The survey targets individuals born abroad with foreign citizenship who arrived in Switzerland within the past ten years, aged 24 to 64 at the time of survey administration. The survey collects repeated measures of experienced discrimination across five waves (2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024) with sample sizes ranging from 5,973 to 7,740 respondents per wave. Response scales and reference periods for discrimination items vary across waves. The survey covers multiple dimensions: migrant mobility, employment conditions, housing conditions, citizenship, and transnationalism. 

Data citation(s):

    • Wanner, P., D’Amato, G., Pont, A., & Hategekimana, V. (2025). Migration Mobility Survey, Survey on living as a migrant in Switzerland 2016-2018-2020-2022-2024 [Data set]. nccr – on the move. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17910581 

 

  1. Causes and Consequences of Socio-Cultural Integration Processes among New Immigrants in Europe (SCIP)

SCIP is a comparative transnational study conducted in two waves (2010-2012) in Germany, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Ireland. The survey was designed to examine socio-cultural integration trajectories of recently arrived immigrants. The study encompassed approximately 7,000 recent immigrants across the four countries. The survey collects data on experiences of discrimination and perceived unfair treatment. Respondent populations vary by country: Pakistani and Polish immigrants in the UK; Turkish and Polish in Germany; Polish in Ireland; and Turkish, Moroccan, Polish, and Bulgarian in the Netherlands. 

Data citation(s):

    • Diehl, C., Gijsberts, M., Güveli, A., Koenig, M., Kristen, C., Lubbers, M., McGinnity, F., Mühlau, P., Platt, L., & Van Tubergen, F. (2016). Causes and Consequences of Socio-Cultural Integration Processes among New Immigrants in Europe (SCIP) (ZA5956; Version 1.0.0) [Data set]. GESIS, Cologne. https://doi.org/10.4232/1.12341 
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