Gathering the Data

Abstract

This chapter offers detailed information on how data for the reported study were obtained and what characteristics the sample has. To ease understanding for the general readership, the chapter also includes brief portrays of the six European countries (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, and UK) included in the study. Furthermore, the chapter discusses details of quantitative and qualitative design, sampling methods, procedures for data collection, statistical analyses, per country and for the grand sample. The settings are discussed on a demographically comparative basis for migration patterns of African migrants to the EU. The intra-EU comparative approach of the study is a stand-alone feature, as no explicitly comparative studies of the current kind seem to exist. Portrays of the instruments used for the study are also part of this chapter: The instrument on personality is the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (48 Items). To evaluate pre and post migration stress levels, the migration stress questionnaire (MSQ) was included. To assess participants’ mental health status, the classical General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) in its 28-item version was used. The extent to which participants suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was also assessed via a pertinent scale. Additionally, the quantitative leg of the reported study experimented with a scale to assess the degree of racial and ethnic prejudice among the migrants themselves. The method chapter discusses reasons for choice of the above-enumerated scales and documents their psychometric properties.