Suchergebnisse

Is it possible or even desirable for scholars to try to extricate the personal and subjective from their research agenda? Might something be lost from research in pursuit of 'objectivity'? If objectivity is so important, why do many scholars study something that is dear or familiar to them? This book acknowledges the ways in which personal experience affects research and how the process of doing research sheds light on personal histories. Offering a collection of multi-layered reflections on the importance that the connection between biography and research can hold for developing meaningful knowledge and new methodologies, it considers the influence of scholars' experiences of migration on their careers. With attention to the ways in which personal biographies have been instrumental in developing the research and methodological sensitivity of accomplished migration scholars across a variety of disciplines, it sheds light on the importance of reflexivity and subjectivity as assets in research rather than obstacles. Positioning the researchers' experiences at the centre of the process of enquiry, Migrant Scholars Researching Migration will appeal not only to scholars of migration and diaspora studies, but to those with interests in research methodology and biographical research.

AbstractFollowing the recent call to combine social network analysis (SNA) approaches in the study of migrant networks and their contextualization within transnational economic, social, legal and political frameworks, in this article, I review recent studies that combine mixed‐methods SNA with observational methods in the study of transnational social networks. Such studies have enabled the collection of rich and contextualized data across multiple sites, helping to address the conundrum facing transnational migration researchers: how to combine breadth and depth in transnational data collection. Mixed‐method SNA combines quantitative and qualitative SNA methods together with in‐depth repeated interviews and observations. The article shows how mixed‐method SNA helps to address three particular challenges of doing transnational migration research: designing a transnational research project; studying transnational relationships as 'worked at'; and capturing the dynamic and changing nature of transnational relationships as embedded within multiple environments (social, legal, economic and political) in which they take place.

AbstractIn this article we investigate why some hometowns in Ghana are more successful than others in mobilizing resources for community development projects from their hometown associations (HTAs) abroad. We analyse the praxis of HTA‐financed development by studying all actors involved in the process – HTAs and migrants abroad and local community leaders and their populations in Ghana. We find there is a relationship between the size of the community and the effectiveness of HTA mobilization. From a matched sample of five villages and towns in Ghana and their respective HTAs in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, we conclude that three important factors are at play in the relationship between size and effectiveness – the micro‐politics of relationships between migrant and local leaders; the institutions that exist at the village/town level to create incentives or sanctions for migrants; and the relationships of trust between the different actors involved.