Introduction: Situating Children of Migrants Across Borders and Origins

Abstract

The main objective of this volume is to explore the methodological challenges and innovations in empirical research on second-generation residents—the children of migrants—including their transitions to adulthood and their integration into the societies in which they live. Although the number of studies on this topic has increased considerably in the last few decades, their focus has rarely been on the nuts and bolts of how to efficiently design and perform research on such populations. This volume elaborates on the centrality of a life-course perspective in research on second-generation residents in three ways: by dealing with challenges related to comparative research designs, by providing a rationale for and examples of mixed-methods approaches, and, finally, by evaluating the most appropriate research methods in the study of identity and of transnational lives. Particular attention is given to aspects such as notions of integration, the identity of people belonging to the second generation, and their relations with their countries of origin. The methodological discussion is enriched with new empirical material that illustrates the advantages of these methods and that advances knowledge on the life courses of the children of migrants.