Qualitative Approach to Migration Research: From Categories to Processuality

Abstract

This paper aims to present the advantages of a qualitative approach in migration studies. Regardless of its proven validity, the qualitative perspective is still underutilised and remains overshadowed by research inspired by (neo)positivist, quantitative and statistical methods in migration studies. The paper seeks to prove the hypothesis that qualitative research, and the biographical method in particular, enables research on migration in its processuality, provides insight into the interconnection between the structure and the agency in all migration phases, and shines a light on power relations that produce unequal outcomes of these movements. The significance and reach of qualitative approaches have been demonstrated through the analysis of particular methodology solutions and the findings obtained by the research on the contemporary international migration of women from Serbia in the European context. The first section of the paper is a comprehensive overview of the application of theoretical and methodological approaches in migration studies, followed by an elaborate description of individual methodological procedures as well as relevant findings of the mentioned research. The main contribution of this paper is that it shows how qualitative research enables the re-examination and deconstruction of categories within which we are used to observing migrants and which actually represent a reflection of the administrative management of international movements.