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This paper discusses the experience of the European Research Network on Transitions in Youth (TIY), formed in 1992 by researchers studying the transition from education to the labor market and other transitions of young people. A particular objective of the TIY is to promote the use of national transition surveys for cross-national research. The paper outlines the history and organization of the TIY. It then uses the experience of the TIY to illustrate how scientific purposes and methodologies are constrained by the social organization of cross-national research and by the availability and comparability of data. Finally it reviews the TIY’s conclusions on the influence of national “transition systems” on transition processes and outcomes. In particular it draws on the work of the CATEWE project (Comparative Analysis of Transitions from Education to Work in Europe), conducted by members of TIY.