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FAQ – Frequently asked questions about EU-MIDIS
►1. General Questions
►2. Survey methodology

1. General Questions

1.1 Why did the Agency undertake this survey?

The Agency’s reports have consistently shown that there is a severe lack of data on minorities in many countries. As a result, policy-makers remain ill-informed about how minorities experience everyday life in the Member States. For example, on average only 11 EU Member States collect good, comprehensive data on racist crime that allows for a trend analysis over time. This continued lack of (comparable) data makes it difficult for policy-makers at national and EU level to develop and target interventions to combat discrimination and racist crime. EU-MIDIS can complement existing efforts in some Member States and at EU level to try and rectify the current lack of hard data on minorities’ experiences of discrimination and victimisation.

1.2 How was the survey conducted, and what were respondents asked?

The survey (executed by Gallup) conducted face-to-face interviews with a random sample of respondents from selected ethnic minority and immigrant groups in all 27 Member States of the European Union. 23,500 ethnic minority and immigrant people were interviewed. In addition 5,000 people from the majority population living in the same areas as minorities were interviewed in 10 Member States to allow for comparison of selected results.

EU-MIDIS surveyed between one and three immigrant, ethnic minority or national minority groups in each Member State of the EU, with a minimum of 500 people interviewed per group in each country. The survey used the same standard questionnaire in all EU countries. The results of this survey are representative for the groups surveyed in the areas where the research was undertaken.

The survey asked ethnic minority and immigrant people about their experiences of discrimination in nine different areas of life: (1) when looking for work; (2) at work; (3) when looking for a house or an apartment to rent or buy; (4) by healthcare personnel; (5) by social service personnel; (6) by school personnel; (7) at a café, restaurant, bar or club; (8) when entering or in a shop; (9) when trying to open a bank account or get a loan.

Experiences of criminal victimisation, including racially motivated crime, were asked about within five different areas: (1) theft of or from a vehicle; (2) burglary or attempted burglary; (3) theft of personal property not involving force or threat; (4) assault and threat; (5) serious harassment.

1.3 Who was interviewed, and how were the groups selected?

The survey sampled men and women who were at least 16 years old and identified themselves as belonging to one of the selected ethnic minority or immigrant groups. Respondents needed to have been residing in the respective Member State for at least 12 months.

Groups were selected for interviewing in each Member State on the basis of the following [1] :

  • Information supplied to the FRA by its Racism and Xenophobia Network (RAXEN) of 27 National Focal Points, which provide the Agency with detailed national annual reports on different minorities’ vulnerability to discrimination and victimisation in each Member State;
  • Identification of the largest minority group or groups in each country, which had to reach a minimum overall size of 5% to be sufficient for random sampling in specific areas;
  • Availability to be surveyed in more than one Member State, which allowed for the creation of ‘aggregate’ groups – such as ‘North Africans’ – for comparison of results between countries.

1.4 Can one take the survey results to mean that country X is more or less racist than country Y?

No. The purpose of this survey was to provide precise data on experiences of minorities and immigrant groups in many different areas of life. EU-MIDIS provides the most extensive data set to date on discrimination and victimisation faced by ethnic minorities and immigrants in the EU. It is, however, only representative for the groups surveyed in the areas where the research was undertaken, and not for all ethnic minority and immigrant groups present in the EU. This data can now be used to develop targeted and evidence-based policies to protect people better from discrimination and racism.

EU-MIDIS has tested a robust and comprehensive random sampling methodology, which any Member State or the EU as a whole can use to extend the survey’s coverage to different groups and more respondents in a country, thus allowing for further comparison and analysis.

1.5 How comparable is the survey data?

As the results predominantly refer to the experiences of the largest ethnic minority groups in the EU, general comparisons can be drawn with respect to the different groups surveyed. However, when making such comparisons due consideration must be given to the different backgrounds and context of each group in each Member State.

Comparison between Member States: EU-MIDIS allows for comparisons between Member States that have similar minority populations, for example between countries where Roma or North Africans were interviewed.

Comparison within a Member State: In 12 Member States, EU-MIDIS interviewed two groups. The results can be compared in each Member State with official government data on discrimination and victimisation (in the form of reported incidents, recorded crimes, and court cases), where such data is available, or with figures from unofficial sources such as NGOs. The scale of potentially unreported discrimination and racist victimisation can thus be gauged in each Member State.

1.6 How is the anonymity of the respondents protected?

At the outset, all research organisations participating in EU-MIDIS were required to abide by the relevant norms of personal data protection. The final data set does not contain personal details, such as names or addresses of the respondents, and the analysis is being carried out so that it will not be possible to identify any single respondent based on their answers to the survey. In addition, respondents had the possibility at any stage to stop the interview, or not to participate at all, and only full interviews are included in the final data set. Before releasing the full data set for the use of other researches, the data set will again be carefully screened to ensure the anonymity of the respondents.

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1.7 How will the Agency follow-up the survey?

The Agency will present the results from the survey to key stakeholders, including policy-makers at EU and national level. Throughout 2009, the Agency will release further ‘data in focus’ reports on specific minority groups and key issues examined in the survey. The full results from the survey will be publicly released and form the background to a high-level conference, to be held in Stockholm in December 2009 under the auspices of the Swedish Presidency of the EU.

Want to know more about the survey methodology?


[1]: For more detailed information on the groups surveyed see EU MIDIS at a glance, p.4