Mapping the Field
Report of a Project carried out by the University of Oxford
Centre for Migration and policy Research and Refugee Studies Centre
contracted by the Home Office
Immigration Research and Statistics Service (IRSS)
by
Stephen Castles, Maja Korac, Ellie Vasta, Steven Vertovec
with the assistance of
Katrin Hansing, Fiona Moore, Emma Newcombe, Lucy Rix, Soojin Yu
December 2002
The views expressed in this report are those of the authors, not necessarily those of the Home Office (nor do they reflect Government policy).
Home Office Online Report 28/03
Integration:Mapping the Field
Report of a project carried out by the University of Oxford
Centre for Migration and policy Research and Refugee Studies Centre
contracted by the Home Office,
Immigration Research and Statistics Service (IRSS)
Executive summaryi-ii
PART 1
Chapter 1Introduction1
1.1Background to the Project1
1.2Structure of the Final Report2
Chapter 2Project Methodology 4
2.1 Scope of the project, methodological considerations and building of data-sets 4
2. 2 Sources of data for bibliography building and methods used to search literature 6
2.3 Selection of articles and reports for inclusion and categories indicating different aspects of research/integration 9
2.4 Searches for recent and current research9
2.5 Interviews with researchers and NGO representatives in the field10
Chapter 3Integration of immigrants and refugees: a conceptual survey11
3.1 The concept of integration11
3.1.1 Integration as a complex two-way process11
3.1.2 Integration into what?13
3.1.3 Alternative concepts14
3.2 Definitional issues19
3.2.1 Defining immigrants19
3.2.2 Defining refugees20
3.2.3 Defining integration of immigrants22
3.2.4 Defining integration of refugees23
3.3 Factors conditioning integration26
3.3.1 Integration as a process26
3.3.2 Appraising the conditioning factors27
3.4 Indicators of integration29
3.4.1 Conceptual problems with indicators of integration29
3.4.2 Issues of evaluation30
3.4.3 Possible indicators31
3.5 Issues of methodology in integration research33
3.5.1 Quantitative and qualitative research methods33
3.5.2 Unit of analysis and time span34
3.5.3 Availability of data34
3.6 Approaches to integration policy: comparative aspects35
3.6.1 Areas of current policy35
3.6.2 Political participation36
3.6.3 Social integration36
3.6.4 Cultural integration38
3.7 Conclusion39
Chapter 4 Recent and current research about immigrants and refugees 41
4.1 Published academic research about integration of immigrants from 1996-2001 43
4.2 NGO based research and reports about the integration of immigrants from 1996-2001 52
4.3 Current academic research about immigrants from 1996 onwards56
4.4 Published academic research about integration of refugees from 1996-2001 59
4.5 NGO based research and reports about the integration of refugees from 1996-2001 67
4.6 Current academic research about refugees from 1996 onwards71
4.7 Recent and current academic research about ethnic minorities and asylum seekers from 1996-2001 73
4.8 Conclusion75
Chapter 5 Gaps in the research on integration of immigrants and refugees 76
5.1 Conceptual and theoretical gaps76
5.1.1 Immigrants77
5.1.2 Refugees78
5.2 Methodological gaps: immigrants and refugees80
5.2.1 Lack of adequate statistics80
5.2.2 Interdisciplinary research81
5.2.3 Qualitative research methods and the need to make the voices of immigrants and refugees more representative 81
5.2.4 Language and translation81
5.2.5 Combining qualitative and quantitative research82
5.2.6 Participatory research/social action research82
5.2.7 Dissemination82
5.2.8 Comparative research88
5.2.9 Longitudinal research83
5.2.10 Community and academic research83
5.3 Gaps in substantive research in specific integration topics and sectors83
5.3.1 Immigrants83
5.3.2 Refugees92
5.4 Conclusion98
Chapter 6 Conclusions99
APPENDICES
Appendix 1 Model/guide for collection of materials and bibliography 1996-2001102
Appendix 2 List of experts interviewed and consulted103
Appendix 3 Integration models in selected immigration countries105
PART 2
Data Set 1Bibliography of academic works
Data Set 2Publications and reports by NGOs and statutory bodies
Data Set 3Recent and current research since 1996
Data Set 4 Research centres
Data Set 5 Key periodicals/ websites/ data sets/ organisations
1
Executive summary
- The ‘Integration: Mapping the Field’ Project surveyed British research on immigrants and refugees conducted between 1996-2001 predominantly within academic and NGO sectors. The exercise included extensive searches of literature and current research alongside interviews with numerous experts in both sectors. Carried out under contract to the Home Office - Immigration Research and Statistics Service (IRSS), the following Report’s aim is to better inform government policy development.
- The Project surveyed over 3,200 bibliographic references. The authors emphasize that, although substantial, due to time constraints this cannot represent an entirely comprehensive overview of the field.It does, however, provide sufficient grounds for a highly informed discussion of the main areas of integration research conducted in the UK over the past five years.
- The Report is divided into two parts. The first is comprised of six chapters outlining conceptual and methodological issues, specific areas of concentration regarding published and ongoing research, significant gaps in knowledge, and views on the future development of policy-relevant research on the integration of immigrants and refugees in the UK. The second part includes a number of databases covering bibliographies of academic publications and reports by NGOs and statutory bodies, lists of current research, key journals, websites, research centres and relevant organizations. A series of topical briefing sheets has been produced in conjunction.
- The Report demonstrates that overall there is a serious lack of data and other factual knowledge about processes and factors of immigrant and refugee integration. This is particularly indicated by a subject-by-subject discussion of research 1996-2001 (Chapter 4). The Report describes significant gaps and proposes a variety of measures with regard to the development of appropriate databases, concepts, theories and research methods. Among a variety of issues, this includes calls for: analyses of historical experiences of integration; recognising the contemporary significance of transnational networks among immigrants and refugees; detailed studies of labour market experiences; more exploration of the impact of legal categories on integration processes; high-quality longitudinal studies; combining quantitative and qualitative methods in evidence-gathering for policy; more work on specific ethnic groups; and more gender-aware research.
- The authors offer a series of suggestions for further expansion and improvement of policy-related research. While the Mapping Project indeed surveyed a considerable amount of research on immigrant and refugee integration, overall work in this field is highly uneven, poorly co-ordinated and limited by inadequate data. In addition to simply more research, there is a need for developing an agreed conceptual framework and set of research indicators to measure various aspects of integration. A quasi-autonomous ‘Immigration and Integration Research Bureau’, akin to that established in Australia, may be desirable. In any case, there is much to be gained by a greater research-policy partnership between academics, policy-makers, practitioners and immigrant and refugee groups themselves.
1
PART 1
Chapter 1
Introduction
Chapter summary – The contextual background to the Project is briefly recounted followed by a description of the Report’s structure. The Report is comprised of two Parts: the first includes a conceptual and methodological discussion of integration research, an account of subject areas covered by research 1996-2001, the highlighting of significant gaps in research and a set of recommendations for developing the policy-research agenda. The second part is made up of a number of data sets covering bibliographies of academic and NGO publications, lists of current research, key journals, websites, research centres and organisations.
1.1 Background to the project
Migration is one of the highest issues on the political agendas of the British government, the European Union (EU) and most of its constituent Member-States. An ageing population and labour shortages in both high and low-skilled sectors currently represent just a few of the phenomena suggesting the need for rethinking surrounding migration. The recent rise in immigration debates reflects at least four forces: ‘the strength of the British labour market, globalisation, increasing economic integration and labour mobility within the EU, and rising political instability around the world. Since these forces are likely to persist, we can expect higher immigration’ (The Economist 27 January 2001: 38). It follows that, concerning a variety of policy domains relevant to migration, there is high demand for more and better social scientific research.
This Report arises from a project funded by the Immigration Research and Statistics Service (IRSS) of the Home Office following an Invitation to Tender issued in December 2000. The contracted project was required to be very short-term in duration, covering a period of just 20 weeks (19 February – 6 July 2001).
The context of the project arises by way of the policy goal that Home Office policies in the field of integrating immigrants and refugees should be informed by the best possible research data and information. In order to develop and improve upon policy initiatives surrounding the integration of immigrants and refugees in British society, therefore, the current array of integration research and information should be examined. From there, new and modified policies based on solid evidence and sound vision could be formulated. The following Report is intended to be a contribution to this process.
Following the contracted terms of reference set out for the project by the Home Office, we emphasize that this ‘mapping’ exercise is intended solely as a large-scale survey of current academic work and non-government organisational reports conducted in the field of immigrant and refugee integration in Britain. It is not a review of literature or an evaluation of research or policy. Given restraints of time and resources, moreover, the mapping exercise has been as full as possible but cannot claim to be wholly comprehensive.
Specifically, the project has been designed to provide an
overview of current research in the area of immigrant and
refugee integration in the UK that can be used for policy development. This has entailed: (a) the theoretical interrogation of key terms, concepts and approaches to issues surrounding integration and policy intervention; (b) an extensive “mapping” of literature, covering several areas relevant to integration in the UK, across various academic disciplines, government departments and NGO’s; and (c) a series of interviews with experts from academic and non-academic sectors in order to obtain information on research completed or in process and to gather informed opinion and advice regarding conceptual and empirical gaps and key areas for future policy-relevant research on immigrant and refugee integration. In the course of research numerous general references to ethnic minorities and asylum-seekers were gathered: while these topics were not part of the project’s terms of reference, many such references have been included since they may overlap with studies of immigrants and refugees.
This Project Report complements the ‘mapping the field’ exercise on Asylum Policy and Process in the United Kingdom undertaken by colleagues at the University of Warwick also on behalf of IRSS/Home Office.
1.2 Structure of the Final Report
This Report follows a structure of discussing methodological and conceptual issues through overviews of research specific to the last five years in the UK, to a detailed list of references and relevant contacts. The Report is divided into two Parts, the first being comprised of various overviews of the field and the second made up of bibliographic and other data.
Part 1
Chapter 2 reviews the specific methods and approaches used in the ‘Integration: Mapping the Field’ Project, including comments on electronic search engines, sources, keywords and a framework of interviewing experts in the field.
In Chapter 3 we describe many of the difficulties in defining just what the ‘integration’ of immigrants and refugees might mean. The chapter represents a distillation of literature surveyed by the Project, comments of interviewed experts, and prior experience of the Report’s senior authors. We provide a Glossary of other terms also often used in policy and research, such as assimilation, incorporation and inclusion. Along with a discussion of pertinent terms and definitions, we proceed with the recognition that ‘integration’ is a kind of umbrella term for summarizing a wide variety of facets and possible trajectories and outcomes. A discussion of processual features surrounding integration follows, as well as an outline of key factors conditioning different pathways of integration. Subsequently, possible quantifiable indicators of integration are listed. It is very important and highly instructive to recognize the ways in which national models, government policies and administrative contexts impact upon various modes of integration: therefore as an Appendix to this chapter we include an extensive section describing a number of differing models of immigrant and refugee integration (Australia, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland) and how they have affected migrant settlement and community development.
The substantial set of literature 1996-2001 and compendium of current research is discussed in Chapter 4 by way of key subject groupings. Broken down into sections covering both immigrant- and refugee-related research, the chapter indicates the main topics that have been researched under the following headings: education and training, labour market, health, housing, socio-cultural and political issues, women and gender, family and children, justice and the legal system, welfare and social policy, discrimination and racism, citizenship and multiculturalism, neighbourhood renewal and social exclusion. Contrasted to the subject-led mapping discussion of research 1996-2001, Chapter 5 goes on to describes significant gaps in the current research agenda. Subsequently, a variety of measures are suggested with regard to the development of appropriate databases, concepts, theories and research methods designed to fill these substantial gaps.
Chapter 6 concludes the Report by way of a series of suggestions arising from the mapping project. These concern not only the current state of integration, but recommended directions for future research and mechanisms for enhanced research-policy coordination.
Part 1 concludes with a set of three appendices: 1. A model/guide for collection of materials and bibliography used in the mapping project; 2. A list of experts interviewed and consulted; and 3. A comparative description of integration models in selected immigration countries.
[NB: all references sited in Part 1 appear in Part 2 - Dataset 1.]
Part 2
This part includes the following sets of data:
- Data Set 1 - bibliography of academic works concerning immigrant and refugee integration 1996-2001, divided into several specific areas of study
- Data Set 2 - bibliography of publications and reports on the integration of immigrants and refugees by non-government organizations and statutory bodies
- Data Set 3 – list of recent and current research projects (including principle investigators and institutions, funding bodies and contact details)
- Data Set 4 - list of research centres on migration and refugee studies, with websites
- Data Set 5 - list of key periodicals, websites, datasets and relevant organizations.
Chapter 2
Project methodology
Chapter summary – The ‘Integration: Mapping the Field’ Project surveyed British academic and NGO research on immigrants and refugees between 1996-2001. This included extensive searches of literature and current research alongside interviews with experts.
2.1. Scope of the project, methodological considerations, and building of data-sets
The aim of this research project, as explained earlier, is to map out existing and current research on integration of immigrants and refugees in the UK. In discussions with the Home Office, it was agreed the study would focus on research conducted or published during the period from 1996, the year when the Immigration and Asylum Act was passed. The primary geographical framework for this ‘mapping’ project is the UK. However, selected research about integration conducted in other countries is also included, as a way of pointing to studies and experience that may be useful for consultation and comparison. Further, relevant studies about integration in the UK, published prior to 1996 are also included, to indicate the development and main research trends in the field.
Given the main objective of this project, this study focused
on identifying and summarising the main areas, themes,
and topics addressed in research about integration in the UK,
as well as on indicating the main research gaps concerning
definition of terms, concepts, methodological considerations,
and areas relevant to the field. To meet this project objective,
four sources of data and information were used:
- Bibliographyof published research - this involved the building up of bibliography that reflects geographical and time/period considerations set out by the project objectives, as well as conceptual considerations relating to definition of categories ‘refugee’, ‘immigrant/migrant’, and ‘ethnic minority’ (see Data Set 1). Additionally, the major task in building up the bibliography was to develop a model or a guide of relevant aspects of integration to facilitate data collection, classification, and analysis (see Appendix 1).
- Current research list - this involved building up a list of research that is currently being carried out as well as that which has been carried out in the UK over the past four to five years. The list also includes information about a selection of relevant projects conducted outside the UK.
- Interviews – with key academic researchers, NGO representatives and community sector workers involved in research and work in the field (see Appendix 2). These interviews provided experts’ insight and comment on the current situation concerning approaches and research about integration, as well as information on evident and hidden gaps in the field. Therefore, they were considered as0 an invaluable source of information for this study.
- Literature - academic literature was used in order to provide a more in-depth understanding of some of the concepts and debates around the process of integration. Where relevant it was also used to support some of the other data.
Additionally,this ‘mapping’ exercise also included building up of sets of data concerning relevant journals, web-sites of organisations, databases, and organisations(see Data Set 5) as well as relevant Research Centres in the field, both within and outside the UK (see Data Set 4). Therefore, discussion in this report is based on all mentioned sources of data and information, as well as on expertise of the members of the team.
In terms of fields of research covered in this study, this ‘mapping’ is multifaceted. It was concerned with several broad and multidisciplinary areas of research – refugee, migration, race relations and minorities studies – and research relating to integration of immigrants and refugees in these fields. This multifaceted approach was shaped by the main objective of the project, which required mapping the field of research about integration of two categories of newcomers, the category of immigrants, on the one hand, and the category of refugees, on the other. In the UK context, as this ‘mapping’ revealed, research in the area of race relations and ethnic minorities studies often refers to both first and second-generation migrants as well as refugees. In order not to allow for some of the research about immigrants and refugees to disappear into the ‘ethnic minority’ category, this category and field of study had to be to some extent included in the project. Consequently, Data Sets 1-3 provide a selected list of research focusing on the ‘ethnic minority’ category.