Tuesday 16th July
Wednesday 17th July
Thursday 18th July
Friday 19th July
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Mixed Methods in Migration Research: Challenges, Innovations and Applications 2 |
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| Convenor | Dr Rossalina Latcheva (European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights) |
The pleas for improvement in the quality and quantity of the data available for the study of migration are not new. In 2009, the expert group of the Centre for Global Development even specified a handful of practical and politically feasible priority actions that could be taken by institutions to greatly expand the availability, quality and quantity of the information about the movement of populations across the globe. What is new is the beginning of an intensified methodological debate on the necessity of interdisciplinary or mixed methods approaches and methodological innovations in migration research. This becomes visible in increasing publishing activities such as the release of edited books (e.g. "Handbook of Research Methods in Migration" in 2012) or of special issues in peer-reviewed journals dealing with issues of migration and the combination of methods necessary to catch its complexity. Well-known migration scholars, economists, social geographers and scholars in transnational studies persuasively show that in order to build more holistic and comprehensive approach to the study of migration we require more sophisticated and broadly conceived sets of methods grounded in an interdisciplinary framework, i.e. the complexities and nuances of transnational lives require triangulating research.
The aim of the proposed session is to bring together researchers that try to overcome the weaknesses of more traditional approaches to migration by relying on multiple instruments and methods for analysing populations different to define, catch and follow, and which are marked by multiple and shifting identities. Since the use of mixed methods may cause tensions and faces its specific challenges, the exchange of knowledge and experiences during the conference are of particular importance. The session organizer is going to make efforts to (co)edit successful contributions and make suggestions for a special issue in e.g. Journal of Mixed Methods Research.
In studies on the integration of migrants in Germany the underlying process is mostly described as a multidimensional one, consisting of four dimensions. These are acculturation, structural positioning, social interaction and identification (Esser 1980). Since research mostly focusses on single dimensions of interest single method approaches are most common. Regarding structural positioning and social interaction predominantly quantitative analyses with secondary data are conducted. Here statistical figures on the macro level are compared; e.g. labour market and educational outcomes (Becker 2011; Granato 2009; Kalter 2006; Kogan & Kalter 2006; Steinbach & Nauck 2004). When it comes to more holistic approaches this kind of strategy often causes problems. Especially analyses of identificational and emotional aspects of the integration are more difficult and require qualitative strategies (Markus & Kitayama 2010; Watkins et al. 1997).
This paper applies a mixed methods approach to study the integration of migrants in Germany. The research was arranged in a threefold manner:
In a first step the process of incorporation of migrants in Germany was investigated with representative data of the Soziooekonomische Panel (SOEP). As the results concerning identification turned out to be particularly problematic the analytical approach with regards to this issue was changed. In a second step the identified problems were tackled by conducting qualitative narrative interviews with Russian and Turkish migrants in Cologne. The ongoing third step is the identification of more appropriate items for the measurement of identificational integration, which shall be tested quantitatively hereafter.
Intermarriage is known as one of the strongest indicators of social integration of migrants into the host society. In general, marital choices are assumed to be driven by three main forces: preferences, social norms, and structural opportunities. In our study, we mainly focus on structural opportunities for contact and agents' preferences. We apply quantitative and qualitative methods in a so-called complementary mixed methods design to gain a deeper understanding of the interplay of structure and agency in the formation of different (bi-national) marriage types in Switzerland. We study the exploratory hypothesis that types of marriages differ in the degree to which they are driven by structural opportunities for contact on the one hand and agency on the other hand. The first case is illustrated by the rise of the likelihood of bi-national marriages between Swiss and a migrant group with an increasing population share. A typical situation for the second case is marriage migration, which is often connected with the active search for a spouse from a foreign country. To study our exploratory hypothesis we us three types of data: we analyse Swiss census data to estimate the importance of the population structure (availability of potential foreign spouses in the canton of residence) for marital choices. In a second step, a recent survey is studied in order to learn more about the actual meeting places of partners in bi-national partnerships. Finally, we use qualitative interviews to find out how persons strategically choose and use meeting places.
The presence of the sons of migrants is rapidly increasing in Italy. This changes the school scenario and gives rise to several problems, particularly regarding social inclusion and intercultural relationships.
Italian research is very advanced on this issue, particularly on a quantitative front. However, data do not ever provide sufficient empirical support for advanced investigation on the processes of integration of foreign students in Italian schools, especially in the Southern regions. A large number of questions (e.g. relationships with peers and teachers, role played by families, etc.) remain in fact unanswered, making it difficult to reconstruct a clear framework.
The case study that we are going to discuss introduces the use of triangulation and complementarity of methods to better understand (inter)cultural relationships and belongings at school (the research design take place in Catania - Sicily).
The inclusion of migrant children is a multi-faceted process with personal, private as well as institutional aspects. For this reason the design plans several steps "crossing" from quantity to quality approach, and viceversa. In this process qualitative methods give more in-deep information about the role, perceptions and feelings of the actors involved, while quantitative methods offer a complete overview about structural and personal condition of Italian and foreign pupils.
Looking at research problems from different perspectives by using different methods provided different shades and meanings of the variety and complexity of reality. Drawing knowledge from difference and complementarity has been the focus of research and the issue that will be discussed.