EN
The purpose of the paper is to present theoretical and methodological aspects of the research project EUROJOS, which is anchored and developed in Lublin ethnolinguistics. It aims to create the cognitive definition of the selected concepts, regarded as values in the European culture. The cognitive definition is based on 3 types of data: lexicographical sources, surveys and text corpora, with the latest playing a crucial role at profiling the concepts. The methodological criteria are indicated as validated by the description of chosen results from other research papers regarding the concept WORK in some languages and the concept DEMOCRACY in Polish and German. Whereas the study of the concept WORK objects to demonstrate the all-embracing definition of the concept, its universal meaning aspects, the example of DEMOCRACY shows the relevancy of profiling, thus also of the role of public discourse and the media.