Search results

A lot of qualitative researchers have a healthy wariness about straightforward categorisation
and modelling endeavours undertaken by quantitative researchers. Too
often, variables and measurements are too rigid in quantitative analysis to take stock
of all the complexity and context-dependency of human behaviour, attitudes and
identities. In the worst-case scenario for migration studies, this leads to oversimplification,
essentialisation and culturalism. In line with King et al. (1994), I would,
however, in this chapter, like to plead for qualitative researchers to take into account
that, in terms of challenges of validity and reliability, we have a lot to learn from
each other. Acknowledging that qualitative research has its distinctive advantages
(Brady and Collier 2004), I will argue that choices in categorisation, case selection
and research design are of crucial importance, perhaps even more in qualitative
studies than in quantitative studies, even if in both methodological traditions we are
confronted with similar challenges. Being transparent and reflecting on the consequences
of our choices of categorisation, analysis and interpretation is of crucial
importance. It is too easy to think that qualitative research would, by definition, be
better equipped in doing justice to the phenomena we wish to study in the field of
migration, especially if our research focusses on migrants.

In this paper Jacobs examines the connection between attitudes on migration, perceived threats linked to migration and the (lack of) willingness to help refugees using a data set of twelve countries from a survey project called the Aurora Humanitarian Index. The higher the perceived ethnic threat (economic, cultural or religious), the less willing individuals are to mobilize for refugees. In addition to patterns on the individual level, we examine the impact of country characteristics (gross domestic product (GDP), number of migrants and so on) through correlational and multilevel analysis. While neither the proportion of migrants nor the proportion of refugees impacts on the willingness to mobilize in favour of refugees, the economic situation does have an effect. In richer countries there is less willingness to help. Furthermore, we can observe that the effect of both opposition to migration and the perception of refugees as posing an economic threat is exacerbated in richer countries (countries with a higher GDP). ; SCOPUS: ar.j ; info:eu-repo/semantics/published

INTERACT - Researching Third Country Nationals' Integration as a Three-way Process - Immigrants, Countries of Emigration and Countries of Immigration as Actors of Integration ; The fulltext pdfs are available upon request to migration@EUI.eu during the embargo period (until 6 October 2019) ; It is well documented that in most European countries migrants have lower educational attainment levels than natives. Access to education for migrant children is almost universally guaranteed in the EU, but this does not automatically equate to access to adapted education, taking into account specific needs linked to socio-economic disadvantages and linguistic challenges. Furthermore, social and ethnic school segregation constitutes a serious barrier towards access to good education for migrant children. Sending society actors seem to have only a limited impact on the educational integration of migrant children in destination countries, but initiatives like diaspora schools constitute one strategy to try and improve the educational outcomes of migrant children. The scientific literature has only given limited space to the potential role played by sending society actors for access to good education for migrant children. The Interact-project should aim to cover this field and assess whether the role played by sending society actors has not unjustly been overlooked. ; INTERACT is co-financed by the European University Institute and the European Union.

Since the federal elections of 2007 (and new elections in 2010 which mid 2011 still have not lead to a new government), elites from both sides of the language frontier in Belgium have had difficulty in agreeing about almost anything. As a result, the split up of the country is seriously being discussed. Although not the main source of conflict, migration and migrant integration policy is one area in which Flemish and Francophone political elites tend to hold diametrically opposing views. Somewhat surprisingly, while negotiations on the formation of a federal government were still in a deadlock situation, in May 2011 the federal parliament did nevertheless succeed in voting a new stricter bill on family reunification, with support from political parties from both sides of the linguistic frontier. In this article I will analyze how it was possible to reach an agreement on this contentious aspect of migration policy. I claim that Europeanization of migration and migrant integration policy neutralized the impact of substate nationalism. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Inleiders Fred Wester en Ellen Hijmans van de bundel apporteren over kwalitatief onderzoek stellen dat rapportage bij kwalitatief onderzoek moeilijker is dan bij kwantitatief onderzoek. Bij kwantitatief onderzoek laten gegevens zich immers vaak compact presenteren in tabellen, terwijl dataweergave bij kwalitatief onderzoek moeilijker is omdat tekstmateriaal niet altijd eenvoudig te reduceren valt. Dat klopt tot op zekere hoogte, maar in beide gevallen gaat het om een reductie van complexiteit van de werkelijkheid en in beide gevallen moeten daarbij beargumenteerde keuzes gemaakt worden, die niet altijd even vlot uit te leggen zijn. Zo moeten ook de tabellen uit kwantitatief onderzoek in de tekst zelf tot leven gebracht worden en moeten er evengoed keuzes gemaakt worden inzake analysemodellen en bevindingen waarop men de nadruk wil leggen. Rapportage van onderzoek is nooit een evidentie.