This is the accepted version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. The nature of public participation in EU research governance is an underexplored area. Assumptions that governance arrangements enable direct participation of 'the public' are identified in the academic literature on science communication. This paper considers the extent to which such assumptions can be supported. It presents findings from a preliminary investigation into the discursive construction of the 'scientific citizen' in selected official texts of the EU in the context of the development of the European Research Area, focusing on new research infrastructures with the legal status of a European Research Infrastructure Consortium. Specific modes of participation are identified: as assessors of the accountability of decision-makers; as recipients and beneficiaries of scientists' knowledge-based decisions; and as participants in the scientific process via open access arrangements. The participation of the 'scientific citizen' is constructed as linked but external to the decision-making processes. Permanent repository link

This is the accepted version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent repository link

This is the accepted version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. ' (2005:7). They recommended inter alia that more guidance and support on research ethics training should be in place for researchers, students and REC members. In considering the framework within which the activities of a University REC are undertaken, we noted the questions about who is involved in the review and what type of research is examined. We explored the issue of decision making and diversity of membership and noted that that the structure of ethics review within a university does not in itself explain the success or otherwise of a university ethics review system. Rather, the efficacy or otherwise of a REC may be seen to relate to its effective decision making processes and how these are informed by the knowledge brought by members to the meetings of the REC. Permanent repository link

In the context of flourishing cross-national and multi-level research, the variety of macro and micro data sources available to researchers have evolved into an interdependent ecosystem of social indicators. Focusing on four comparative social surveys, this paper examines the extent to which secondary data users take advantage of a range of complementary data sources to broaden the breadth or strengthen the robustness of their research. Using two Google Scholar-based datasets of 2789 and 796 publications, we find that, despite the complex equivalence issues in comparative survey research, users combine data to a considerable extent, aiming to increase conceptual, geographic, and temporal coverage and cross-validate findings. Selecting the example of the European Social Survey, 183 journal articles are qualitatively examined to identify specific epistemic gains attained by analysts when combining ESS survey data with data from other comparative programmes. The strategy involves risks, emanating from either analysts' own misjudgements or arising from the wider issues of comparability and transparency in cross-national survey research. However, a number of data harmonisation platforms have recently emerged that may facilitate the standardisation of measures across surveys, augmenting the possibilities for future theory development and research.

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