States of comparability: A meta-study of representative population surveys and studies on cultural consumption

•Meta-study of 16 national surveys/studies of cultural consumption from 12 nations.•Compares their content, methodological approach & principle theoretical background.•Evaluates comparability of the surveys/studies & seeks to identify best practices.•Reveals that some of these survey/studies meet scientific standards & some do not.•Regarding comparability, cultural consumption research faces a number of problems.

This article discusses similarities and differences found among representative national surveys and studies of cultural attendance. In this meta-study, 16 surveys from 12 countries are subjected to a comparative analysis regarding their content, methodology and theoretical orientation. The investigation is based, not on the results of the individual studies, but on such aspects as their structure and divergences in content, their differences in methodological approach, and their principle theoretical backgrounds. The goals of this meta-study are to evaluate the comparability of the studies and their results in an international framework and to identify best practice examples for high-quality analyses. The results of this meta-study show that, in the field of audience research, there are certainly studies that meet scientific standards. However, in general and especially concerning the comparability of such analyses, research in this field faces a number of problems that restrict detailed juxtaposition.