1. Academic perspectives: Quantitative and qualitative paradigms in studying migrant youth identity Paul Lambert (University of Stirling) Presentation to the SUII workshop, ‘Migrant youth identity in post- referendum Scotland’ 19-20 October 2015, Glasgow 1

2. Academic research… ‘Migrant youth identity’ is of interest because: – It just is… {illuminating about our cultural arrangements} – Long-standing social science interest in the social circumstances of migrants / descendants of migrants / ethnic minorities Identify social problems, evaluate social policies – Identities and cultures are markers of ‘social incorporation’ Interest in patterns or problems of ‘social incorporation’ By some theories, ‘social’ a precursor to ‘structural’ incorporation For some, ‘identity’ is a crucial element of an ‘intersectional’ approach – Youth identities might be early indicators of cohort change – Youths are groups with particular potential for social change through public institutions (education, social associations) 2

3. Academic research… Most social science studies can be characterised as from one or another methodological paradigm – plus ‘Mixed methods’ designs that use contributions from both to address research questions This division is important to research on migrant youth identity because it is shapes the available evidence base availability of data resources, types of evidence, types of research questions, types of explanatory accounts presented QualitativeQuantitative 3

4. Some qualitative research projects – E.g. this morning: video/media to communicate complex circumstances – Represented today: Geopolitics in Scotland for young migrant groups (focus groups, in-depth interviews) (http://research.ncl.ac.uk/youngpeople/)http://research.ncl.ac.uk/youngpeople/ – E.g. CODE research programme (http://www.ethnicity.ac.uk/) with narrative films, ethnography, interviewinghttp://www.ethnicity.ac.uk/ Inputs from UK-based qualitative research include:  Complexities of identity, multiple positionings  Experiences of misrecognition and group-based assumptions  Diverse impacts of complexity and misrecognition  Different socio-economic orientations  Different social networks and social lifestyles  Differential health and well-being  Complex personal and social strategies and evidence of ‘resilience’ 4 Here, qualitative evidence is usually seen as more exploratory; fluid; dynamic; interpretive; scenario-specific; illustrative

5. Some quantitative research projects – PSI survey series characterising socio-economic and lifestyle circumstances of larger ethnic groups (e.g. Modood et al. 1997) – CODE research programme (http://www.ethnicity.ac.uk/) with census and survey data on social inequalitieshttp://www.ethnicity.ac.uk/ – Numerous focussed studies in sociology and in education on young minorities and their lifestyles, identities, attainments Inputs from UK-based quantitative research include:  Themes of ‘persistent inequalities’ and ‘ethnic penalties’  Theme of ‘Diversity and disadvantage’  (qualified) evidence for progressive intergenerational incorporation (social and cultural first; economic second)  Cohort differences: immigrant generation cf. their descendants 5 Here, quantitative evidence is usually seen as more empirical; representative; defined by standard categories; nation-wide

6. Qualitative v’s quantitative paradigms By and large the academic communities of qualitative and quantitative social research don’t overlap or inform each other very effectively {Today’s session tries to be an exception!} Two important problems relevant to studying migrant youth identity? i.Quantitative research too frequently simplifies complexity of issues (by using broad measures; other summarising devices; and/or by neglecting relevant themes due to lack of data) ii.Qualitative research too frequently lacks an appropriate sense of the relative context or importance of the social phenomena that is being explored (by being focused on details/interpretation) 6

7. …Quantitative research is simplifying? Generic problems of ethnicity measures in surveys… - It’s sparse - It’s collinear (e.g. to age) - It’s dynamic (cf. comparative research) 7

8. …quantitative research is under-appreciated..? On themes of migrant youth identity, substantial volumes o f UK survey data with materials of potential relevance E.g. UKHLS (www.understandingso ciety.ac.uk) adult (16+) panel data, plus co- resident youth questionnaires (11-15)www.understandingso ciety.ac.uk Also emergent possibilities for analysis of by-product data, e.g. social media records 8

9. Example debate: Social stability versus social change? Migration patterns change very much in form through time, but possibly change less so in impact Qualitative studies often focus on new/emergent social phenomena (e.g. new forms of expression and sources of identity) Quantitative studies often highlight stability (e.g. comparable ethnic disadvantages over 40 years of research) Image from research conducted at www.camsis.stir.ac.uk/pullingapart In general, quantitative analysis suggests that many social processes are much more stable over the long term than is widely believed 9

10. Summary: Priorities when studying migrant youth identity Qualitative and quantitative paradigms tend to lead to different evidence and claims about migrant youth identity Wealth of potential resources amongst quantitative datasets Challenges for many existing research studies Quantitative research that is too simplifying or that ignores complex issues Qualitative research that risks limited impact 10