Quantitative Methods in Migration Research

Abstract

This chapter engages with social surveys and experimental research as examples of quantitative approaches to studying migration. Surveys have been a much more popular choice among migration researchers than experiments, but it is the juxtaposition of the two types of research that highlights their specificities, advantages, and limitations. Further, the chapter discusses in more detail two topics: cross-national designs and longitudinal data. Cross-national and longitudinal studies are not the most prevalent, but they are perhaps the most challenging in quantitative research on migration and important because of the particular insights they can offer. Necessarily, quantitative methods in migration research cover a broader range of issues that this chapter will address. However—with non-specialist language for non-quantitative researchers—this chapter will aim to gently introduce the described topics whilst pointing to literature for further exploration.