Wielokulturowość Europy środkowo-wschodniej. Kilka metodologicznych uwag o definiowaniu i badaniu zjawiska.

The article is supposed to be an opinion in the discussion over the state and prospects of modern research on multiculturalism. Taking into account the importance of this phenomenon in the contemporary reality and a variety of approaches both to the way it is defined as well as to its numerous examples, there was made an attempt to delineate multiculturalism as a complex social-cultural phenomenon in Central Eastern European context whose subjects are constituted by all ethnic groups living on this area. This complexity can be seen on four levels of multiculturalism. On the level of ‘empirical state of issues’ (demographic); social awareness; a political one and a marketing one. Theoretical bases characterizing the specified levels are being consistently connected with methodological proposals within which some guidelines allowing for the specifics of a particular level are presented. These are: a given research/analysis subject and the way of obtaining data — both of a qualitative and quantitative type. The need to carry out—on various levels—the research on multiculturalism in Central Eastern Europe is at the same time connected with a pursuit of the reflection of the specifics of multiculturalism in this part of Europe so that this peculiarity avoids being treated as a ‘copy’ of the Western European version.