A Dynamic and Multidimensional Model of Integration–Building on Longitudinal Quantitative and Qualitative Data on Migrants in Vienna Barbara Herzog-Punzenberger (Austrian Academy of Sciences) & Rossalina Latcheva (Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna) IMISCOE Workshop C8, September 10th, 2008, Bilbao

Point of departure (1) Theoretical challenges Migrants, ethno-national groups and receiving societies treated as homogenous entities Integration as a –contested –one-dimensional –dichotomous –static –unidirectional & linear –decontextualized –non-relational and non-interactive concept, often without explicit longitudinal perspective

Point of departure (2) Methodological challenges For decades No data on naturalized persons No longitudinal data on migrants Small samples No systematic integration of quantitative and qualitative approaches in research design and analysis

Implications for research and policy-making primarily descriptive, non-longitudinal and one-sided research Impossibility to control for intervening variables such as gender, age, generation, year of arrival country of origin, (year of) naturalization, which –leads to invalid and not sufficiently differentiated comparisons between and within social categories –imposes homogeneity on both, dependent and independent variables –leads to uncertain and spurious causal inferences, =>> that often legitimise political interventions

An attempt to meet the challenges: LIMITS and SIM – projects 1)Combining quantitative and qualitative approaches using method triangulation with connected samples; 2)Integrating objective and subjective perspective in the assessment of migration and integration processes: analysing the intersection between migrants’ own perceptions and interpretations on the one side and the objective traces of their biographies on the other; 3) Conducting a variety of multivariate and content analysis (event history, optimal matching, multidimensional scaling, cluster analysis, content analysis across cases) and a systematic triangulation of findings; 4) Developing a dynamic multidimensional model for explaining the interdependency of time and context within the individual migration biography, which allows for flexibility by grasping complexity

Data LIMITS ( ): Quantitative information gathered on long-term residents in Vienna from Turkey and Serbia (n=601); Event histories (via calendar tool) of their  migration,  education and employment,  family formation,  housing,  social networks  language acquisition (attained courses and self-assessment) Cross-sectional information on income, pre-migration and citizenship acquisition SIM (2006): Qualitative information from 30 in-depth interviews sampled on the basis of the produced trajectory clusters from the optimal matching analysis

Results Optimal matching –analysis of labour market participation over time (analysing the differences (distances) between pairs of individual trajectories) Multidimensional scaling & cluster analysis –obtaining 5 different types (clusters) of labour market participation over time (1. fully employed, 2.difficult beginning then full employment, 3. discontinous employment biography, 4.transition from education to full employment, 5. outside the labour market) Selection criteria for in-depth interviews –cluster, ethnicity, gender, proficiency in German Assessing the Individual Migration Project – A Dynamic and Multidimensional Model

Discussion The dynamic of the model results from: –the interdependency of the different dimensions (within and between phases) –the different composition of the relevant dimensions within phases and life cycles Next steps: validation of the model –other groups of origin, –other types of migrants (refugees, transnational migrants,…) –other national contexts

Does the model meet the challenges?  heterogeneity between and within groups depending on time of arrival, gender, generation…  multidimensional with at least 4 dimensions  grades and shades  dynamic: interdependency of phases and dimensions (longitudinal data)  framed by changing conditions of the receiving society homogeneity unidimensional dichotomous static decontextualized Grasping complexity through systematic integration of quantitative and qualitative approaches in study design and analysis

Thank you for your attention and critical remarks! Contact: Rossalina Latcheva & Barbara Herzog-Punzenberger