One of the key determinants of subjective well-being is loneliness. The results of other studies have shown that loneliness is highly detrimental to personal health and subjective well-being and that its effects could be especially unpleasant for older people. The aim of this article is to analyze the relationship between loneliness and subjective wellbeing among older people in unions in Europe. For the purposes of this study, data from the 7th wave of the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement from 12 European countries were used. The analysis was based on a dyadic approach. The results showed that older partnered men reported higher subjective well-being than older partnered women did. Regional differences were visible in this regard (higher levels in Western and Northern Europe than in Eastern and Central Europe). Additionally, older partners with a higher level of loneliness reported lower subjective well-being (the influence was consistent across genders and two European regions). Moreover, within-couple differences in loneliness might positively influence subjective well-being. This study is part of the trend toward expanding awareness of the need to examine partners and their interdependence. Thus, this dyadic research approach increases understanding of the determinants of subjective well-being among people in partnerships.

This paper provides a reflexive account of the methodological journey undertaken during a study on cross-regional families in rural North India. Initially conceived as a qualitative study utilizing biographical narrative interviews with emerging adults (aged 18-25), the research faced challenges related to participant recruitment, limited narrative depth, and ethical considerations surrounding family dynamics. Insights from the pilot study led to a methodological shift toward a mixed-methods embedded design, incorporating both qualitative interviews and quantitative socio-demographic data. This paper details the rationale behind these adaptations, discusses the epistemological and ontological shifts that informed the research redesign, and reflects on the implications of researcher positionality. By documenting these methodological transitions, this study contributes to the growing discourse on research adaptability by demonstrating how reflexive engagement can strengthen qualitative inquiry in sensitive and evolving research contexts, particularly in contexts involving marginalized or underrepresented populations. The paper underscores the importance of iterative methodological flexibility in qualitative research and highlights the nuanced challenges of studying social stigma, caste dynamics, and identity formation within cross-regional families. Ultimately, this study contributes to methodological literature.

This article argues that modern artificial intelligence and classical statistical methods share common methodological foundations. Starting with Gauss’s least-squares method (1801), the paper shows that ordinary least-squares regression is mathematically equivalent to the simplest neural network. The narrative traces the parallel evolution of statistical tools in social sciences from Galton and Pearson through structural equation modeling, item response theory, and causal inference and machine learning, from early neural networks to transformers and large language models. Recognizing these shared roots can facilitate productive exchange: AI methods extend the regression toolkit to new data types, while social science methodology can bring rigor to AI research on human behavior.

The aim of the article is to analyse the possibility and extent of authorisation of empirical material by research participants, including authorisation of interviews in qualitative studies. The institution of authorisation (autoryzacja) is well known in Polish Press Law and journalistic practice; however, research participants sometimes also request authorisation of their interviews. This article examines provisions of national and European research ethics, which may be interpreted as relating to aspects of authorisation. It formulates the rules and limitations of authorisation in scientific research, indicating that its scope is not regulated by law. Any potential right to authorise interviews or other empirical material may therefore be agreed upon in specific cases at the pre-interview stage. The article also indicates that confidentiality of academic interviews has similar functions to that of authorisation: anonymisation of research material prevents the identification of interviewees who require authorisation because they do not want to share their views and opinions under their full names.

The objective of this paper is to explore the stability and change of social conflict perceptions in Poland between 1988 and 2023. The research focused on four key domains of social life—wealth, labor, managerial roles, and political power — and aimed to trace how public perceptions of conflict in these areas shifted across two fifteen- year periods of Polish history — late socialist and early post-socialist (1988-2003) — and the ups and downs of Western-style democracy and market capitalism (2008-2023), interspaced by Poland's entry into the European Union, from referendum to full legal adjustment (2003-2008). The analysis is based on examination of the extent to which these perceptions were consistent over time and how they might have been institutionalized following significant political and economic transformations.

This paper presents the application of non-probability sampling – the rivers sample method to reach a group of professional foster parents in Poland – case of hard-to-reach population. This is a population whose public, nationwide register does not exist and additionally, it is kittle known about it in terms of the characteristics of its members, therefore quota sampling was not feasible. River sample method involves recruiting respondents by inviting them to the survey while they are doing some other activity on the Internet. The invitation to take part in the survey can be made through online banners, advertisements, information in forums or e-mails and on thematic websites. It provides a quick, low-cost, flexible way of reaching the group of respondents who are the target but it has its limitations- under-coverage and self-selection – which may affect the bias in the sample and thus the possibility to generalise to populations. Despite those limitations the presented study obtained a sample that reflects the proportions regarding the known characteristics in the population of professional foster carers in Poland: their provincial distribution and diversity of forms. In general, the river sample method works efficiently especially for exploratory studies and hard-to-reach groups.