Insider Research on Migration and Mobility: International Perspectives on Researcher Positioning

Lejla Voloder · Liudmila Kirpitchenko

May 2016 · Routledge

About this ebook

With an increasing proportion of migration and mobility field studies being conducted by migrants and members of ethnic minorities in 'home' contexts, the implications of 'insider research' are increasingly subject critical scrutiny. Researchers who may share migration experiences or cultural, ethnic, linguistic or religious identities with their participants are exploring the means, ethics and politics of mobilizing ’insider capital’ for the purpose of gaining access to and representing research participants. Bringing together the latest international scholarship in the sociology and anthropology of migration, this volume explores the complexities, joys and frustrations of conducting ’insider’ research. The book offers analyses of key methodological, ethical and epistemological challenges faced by migration researchers as they question the ways in which they come to identify with their research topic or their participants. Addressing questions of identity and categorization, ethics and methodology, epistemology and situated knowledge, Insider Research on Migration and Mobility will appeal to scholars across the social sciences with interests in migration, mobilities, diaspora studies and ethnic and racial identities, as well as those interested in qualitative research design and analysis.

About the author

Lejla Voloder is a socio-cultural anthropologist with interest in research methodologies, and in the geopolitical and environmental forces that impact upon migration and settlement. She has published in the areas of autoethnography and multiculturalism. Her most recent publication in Ethnic and Racial Studies looks into migratory journeys and the articulations of citizenship in Turkey. Liudmila Kirpitchenko is Research Fellow at the Centre for Citizenship and Globalization, Deakin University, Australia. Liudmila’s research interests include academic mobility, intercultural encounters, knowledge creation, cosmopolitanism, social inclusion and qualitative research methods. Among her recent publications are a book Academic Mobility and Intercultural Dialogue in Australia, Canada and Italy and an article on academic hyper-mobility in the Journal of Intercultural Communication.