Suchergebnisse

The question is beginning to be debated in the field of migration studies as to whether it is possible to formulate an explanatory theory general enough to cover the whole process of emigration and immigration. Charles Price thinks it is doubtful that we are ready for a general account couched in terms of formal theory (Australian Immigration: A Bibliography and Digest, 1966, p. A52). On the other hand, Everett S. Lee has attempted to present a general theory ("A Theory of Migration", Demography, 3, 1966, p. 47–57). The following article by Mangalam and Schwarzweller takes a middle of the road position by formulating a middle-range theory of migration. This is a preliminary effort which other researchers will hopefully modify, clarify, and expand.

The need for a more comprehensive, general theoretical approach to the study of migration is widely recognized by sociologists and other behavioral scientists. At present, no major synthesizing effort, directly relevant to the concerns of sociologists, exists. Against a background of recent trends and lines of inquiry in migration research, drawn from an extensive review of the current literature, probable reasons are suggested for this "lag" in general theory-building. In addition to a number of misconceptions about the nature of migration, which continue to prevail, and difficulties stemming from the sources of migration data, which reinforce those misconceptions, the study of migration has suffered from a lack of concern on the part of our leading sociological theorists.