Institutions and Organizations of Refugee Integration by Gregg Bucken-Knapp & Vedran Omanović & Andrea Spehar

Author:Gregg Bucken-Knapp & Vedran Omanović & Andrea Spehar
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030272494
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

A Final Reflection on Our Data Sources

In an ideal world (or at least the ideal world inhabited by researchers), data for a project such as this would have been generated and collected after the development of the research theme, or it would have made use of existing data that was collected in a systematic and comparable manner. However, the data for this project is the result of smaller previous projects, with only two of those having a thematic link. Even in that instance, the data were generated using different techniques—group interviews and semi-structured interviews. Further, the project that gives rise to the BiH data makes use of biographical narratives. Lastly, we note that these biographical narratives were conducted nearly more than twenty years after the events being described, which is a far different time frame than the various interviews having to do with the more recent refugee ‘crisis’. Certainly, we understand that there are those who may voice some degree of skepticism to our use of data from these disparate projects, and which have been collected following the passing of very different amounts of time.

Yet, while acknowledging that all of this is indeed the case, we do not regard it as problematic for the following reasons. First, we remind the reader that that while the methods for data collection may have differed across the three data sets, they are nonetheless guided by a similar research interest: to cast light on how refugees to Sweden perceive their integration experiences. The data collection net may have been cast more broadly than simply labor market integration, and the construction of the netting may have been slightly different for each data set, but they nonetheless capture the information that is of relevance to us, and which can be made subject to analysis. Second, we regard the amount of time that has lapsed in the BiH case as one that allows for an intriguing possibility to be considered, even if it cannot yet be substantiated. We understand that the passage of time may have an impact on the ability to recall events precisely. Yet, as will be apparent in the forthcoming empirical chapters, the BiH respondents, more than twenty years on, appear to be sharply less critical of the integration process than those who have arrived since 2015. While we return to this point in greater detail in the conclusion, at this point we stress the possibility that proximity to the crisis, and the attending uncertainty understandably results in more critical assessments. With the passage of time, and with successful establishment, a more nuanced form of reflection, which does not just focus on the (very real) negative aspects is potentially expressed. In short, while acknowledging these potential limitations, we land very firmly on the side that these are only limitations if one chooses not to approach existing data pragmatically, and does not see the potential in creatively engaging with it. It is not an ideal collection of data sets for some, but it is one that can still be well-suited for the purposes of this analysis.

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