Methods in Dialogue: Researching Migration
Date: Wednesday 16th December 2009, 3-5pm
Location: Lecture Theatre G7, Humanties Bridgeford Street Building. University of Manchester (venue and directions)
Workshop summary
Our three speakers will introduce the different methodological approach they have taken to researching migration. This is followed by by discussion and debate from participants, exploring the distinctive research questions, practices, insights and types of knowledge claim that different methodological approaches to researching a topic can offer.
Speakers
'Ethnographies of Migration Beyond the Ethnic Lens' Professor Nina Glick Schiller (University of Manchester)
Most qualitative research on migrants and refugees is based on a concept of ethnic, or minority, or diasporic “community” and focuses on a specific neighborhood or set of “community organizations” or leaders. Often data from such a sample in a gateway city is generalized to an entire nation-state. I explore some of the problems with relying on this “ethnic lens,” and the methodological nationalism it reflects. Drawing on my ethnographic field work in several different cities, I explore alternative approaches to the study of migrant settlement and transnationality.
Nina Click Schiller is the Director of the Cosmopolitan Cultures Institute at the University of Manchester. View Nina Glick Schiller's webpage for more details.
Researching the experiences of young undocumented migrants in England’ Professor Alice Bloch (City University London)
This presentation will explore some of the key issues that influenced and affected the research process and the fieldwork experiences in a qualitative study of young undocumented migrants in England. A number of areas will be examined including: the role of community researchers, access, trust, sampling and representation.
Alice Bloch is a Professor of Sociology at City University, London. View Alice Bloch's webpage for more details.
'What surveys can (and can't) teach us about migration' Dr Rob Ford (University of Manchester)
My research focuses on using survey data and statistical analysis to learn about how the public regard immigration and immigrants. I will discuss some of the strengths and shortcomings of this approach, the questions it can (and cannot) answer and talk about innovative contemporary approaches to survey research such as experimental methods and implicit attitudes research which may shed new light on the psychological and social forces which drive public reactions to immigration.
'What surveys can (and can't) teach us about migration'(link opens in new window)
Rob Ford is a Research Fellow in the Institute for Social Change at the University of Manchester. View Rob Ford's webpage for more details.
Registration and fees
This workshop has now taken place.
Directions
The workshop is in the G7 in the Humanities Bridgeford Street Building at the University of Manchester. Humanities Bridgeford Street is number 35 on the Campus Map [link opens in new window].
If you aren't familiar with the University of Manchester campus, see out Getting Here page [opens in new window] for directions to our offices. Note that the workshop isn't in the Arthur Lewis Building but the entrance to the Humantities Bridgeford Street Building is directly opposite.