European Elites as field(s)

On the basis of several collective research experiences, which share a focus on European elite groups, this article takes on a reflexive posture with respect to the different stakes and problems that arrive at different stages of survey research: conception of a concrete research design; approach for collecting information; biographical database management; statistical analyses of the data, with a focus on the tools and potential of Geometric Data Analysis. Hence, the paper develops a methodological and epistemological, but also sociological, point of view on the process of using “prosopographical” databases in the framework of transnational studies, which enrolls itself in an already rich tradition of study about the internationalization of elites.