Editorial: Biographical methods in migration research

Abstract

During the last decades, qualitative biographical/narrative methods gained a prominent position within the spectrum of social science methodology and research practice, mainly due to a reaction to the positivist-empiricist dominance and associated views of social reality. After an initial interest to biographical methods, which followed the edition of ‘The Polish Peasant in Europe and America (1919-1921)’ by Thomas and Znaniecki (1958), biographical and generally qualitative research methods gave way to empiricist-quantitative approaches and only since the end of 1960 the positivist domination begun to be unsettled (Halfacree and Boyle 1993; Findlay and Li 1997; Tsiolis 2006).

The unwritten ‘laws of migration’: reflections on inequalities, aspirations and cultures of migration

“…The migrant's individual and/or family strategies for improving their social status during the mobility process were also explored. The 'built-in historical perspective' (Rogaly, 2015) of life histories allows for the study of migrants' individual and family trajectories, while both the 'life history approach' and the biographical method are important methodological approaches for examining various social and spatial mobilities (Halfacree & Boyle, 1993;Thompson, 2004;Frändberg, 2008;Bertaux & Thompson, 2009;Iosifides & Sporton, 2009;Adey, 2010;Rogaly, 2015). Particular attention is given to the way(s) in which the opportunity structure of the origin and host countries shape migration decisions and possibly fuel or alter future social and spatial pathways.…”

The unwritten ‘laws of migration’: reflections on inequalities, aspirations and cultures of migration

“…The migrant's individual and/or family strategies for improving their social status during the mobility process were also explored. The 'built-in historical perspective' (Rogaly, 2015) of life histories allows for the study of migrants' individual and family trajectories, while both the 'life history approach' and the biographical method are important methodological approaches for examining various social and spatial mobilities (Halfacree & Boyle, 1993;Thompson, 2004;Frändberg, 2008;Bertaux & Thompson, 2009;Iosifides & Sporton, 2009;Adey, 2010;Rogaly, 2015). Particular attention is given to the way(s) in which the opportunity structure of the origin and host countries shape migration decisions and possibly fuel or alter future social and spatial pathways.…”

Becoming “Platform Workers”: A Biographical Exploration of Temporary Visa and Worker Subjectivities in the Gig Economy

“…This article draws on empirical data from two research projects, both of which use biographical interviewing to explore migrant workers’ experiences in performing platform-mediated work in Berlin. Biographical interviews aim to reconstruct research participants’ life trajectories (Iosifides and Sporton 2009, 101–2). They are characterized by a high degree of openness and a strong focus on research participants’ experiences and their subjective interpretations and attributions of meaning to certain events (Ní Laoire 2007, 377–9).…”

Editorial: Strengths, Risks and Limits of Doing Participatory Research in Migration Studies

“…An interesting paradox is that other fields, not principally labelled as Migration Studies, have been developing a very strong qualitative and participatory tradition dealing with migrant populations. For example, researchers within the field of feminist studies, research aiming at decolonizing psychology and anthropology, culturally-sensitive research, social work, critical psychology or education, have frequently conducted innovative research with alternative, often culturally-relevant or arts-based methods, to engage mobile people in collective explorations of issues linked to migration (see for example Iosifides and Sporton, 2009;Kontopodis, 2012;O'Neill, 2008;Lenette, 2019). We could even argue that outside Migration Studies, there has been a surge of explorative, innovative creative participatory research involving migrant populations.…”

The unwritten ‘laws of migration’: reflections on inequalities, aspirations and cultures of migration

“…The migrant's individual and/or family strategies for improving their social status during the mobility process were also explored. The 'built-in historical perspective' (Rogaly, 2015) of life histories allows for the study of migrants' individual and family trajectories, while both the 'life history approach' and the biographical method are important methodological approaches for examining various social and spatial mobilities (Halfacree & Boyle, 1993;Thompson, 2004;Frändberg, 2008;Bertaux & Thompson, 2009;Iosifides & Sporton, 2009;Adey, 2010;Rogaly, 2015). Particular attention is given to the way(s) in which the opportunity structure of the origin and host countries shape migration decisions and possibly fuel or alter future social and spatial pathways.…”

Becoming “Platform Workers”: A Biographical Exploration of Temporary Visa and Worker Subjectivities in the Gig Economy

“…This article draws on empirical data from two research projects, both of which use biographical interviewing to explore migrant workers’ experiences in performing platform-mediated work in Berlin. Biographical interviews aim to reconstruct research participants’ life trajectories (Iosifides and Sporton 2009, 101–2). They are characterized by a high degree of openness and a strong focus on research participants’ experiences and their subjective interpretations and attributions of meaning to certain events (Ní Laoire 2007, 377–9).…”

Editorial: Strengths, Risks and Limits of Doing Participatory Research in Migration Studies

“…An interesting paradox is that other fields, not principally labelled as Migration Studies, have been developing a very strong qualitative and participatory tradition dealing with migrant populations. For example, researchers within the field of feminist studies, research aiming at decolonizing psychology and anthropology, culturally-sensitive research, social work, critical psychology or education, have frequently conducted innovative research with alternative, often culturally-relevant or arts-based methods, to engage mobile people in collective explorations of issues linked to migration (see for example Iosifides and Sporton, 2009;Kontopodis, 2012;O'Neill, 2008;Lenette, 2019). We could even argue that outside Migration Studies, there has been a surge of explorative, innovative creative participatory research involving migrant populations.…”

The unwritten ‘laws of migration’: reflections on inequalities, aspirations and cultures of migration

“…The migrant's individual and/or family strategies for improving their social status during the mobility process were also explored. The 'built-in historical perspective' (Rogaly, 2015) of life histories allows for the study of migrants' individual and family trajectories, while both the 'life history approach' and the biographical method are important methodological approaches for examining various social and spatial mobilities (Halfacree & Boyle, 1993;Thompson, 2004;Frändberg, 2008;Bertaux & Thompson, 2009;Iosifides & Sporton, 2009;Adey, 2010;Rogaly, 2015). Particular attention is given to the way(s) in which the opportunity structure of the origin and host countries shape migration decisions and possibly fuel or alter future social and spatial pathways.…”

Becoming “Platform Workers”: A Biographical Exploration of Temporary Visa and Worker Subjectivities in the Gig Economy

“…This article draws on empirical data from two research projects, both of which use biographical interviewing to explore migrant workers’ experiences in performing platform-mediated work in Berlin. Biographical interviews aim to reconstruct research participants’ life trajectories (Iosifides and Sporton 2009, 101–2). They are characterized by a high degree of openness and a strong focus on research participants’ experiences and their subjective interpretations and attributions of meaning to certain events (Ní Laoire 2007, 377–9).…”

Editorial: Strengths, Risks and Limits of Doing Participatory Research in Migration Studies

“…An interesting paradox is that other fields, not principally labelled as Migration Studies, have been developing a very strong qualitative and participatory tradition dealing with migrant populations. For example, researchers within the field of feminist studies, research aiming at decolonizing psychology and anthropology, culturally-sensitive research, social work, critical psychology or education, have frequently conducted innovative research with alternative, often culturally-relevant or arts-based methods, to engage mobile people in collective explorations of issues linked to migration (see for example Iosifides and Sporton, 2009;Kontopodis, 2012;O'Neill, 2008;Lenette, 2019). We could even argue that outside Migration Studies, there has been a surge of explorative, innovative creative participatory research involving migrant populations.…”