This state of the art report examines the time dimension of migration and integration, as well as several cross-cutting categorisations – gender, age, generations and changing family structures – which are, to a greater or lesser extent, time-dependent.

This is an extremely broad canvas on which to try to paint a picture of the temporal and socio-demographic dimensions of the processes of immigration and integration in Europe; the danger is to try to cover too much ground, invading the territories of many of the other research clusters in the IMISCOE Network.

In section 2 of the paper the authors stress the practical and theoretical importance of time in the study of migration. In section 3 they move to a more methodological analysis, and set out a series of possible strategies for studying comparatively the role of time in migration. Sections 4 and 5 review two specific epistemologies for studying migration through time, one broadly qualitative and the other quantitative, although this methodological distinction is not absolute.

The succeeding four parts of the report, sections 6-9, switch the focus away from time per se, i.e. as a continuous and longitudinal variable, towards a range of cross-sectional and cross-cutting axes of analysis. Section 10 concludes the paper by highlighting key findings and trends. The main purposes of this final section, however, are to identify gaps in the literatures covered by this cluster on gender, age and generations, and to specify priorities for further, especially comparative, research on time-based studies of migrants and the integration process.

This title is published within the IMISCOE publication programme as part of the Working Papers. These Working Papers are the products of ongoing work by IMISCOE members that are not (yet) ready for publication within the IMISCOE-AUP Book series. They may range from State of the Art Reports (SoAR) on worldwide research within a particular domain to more specific products of ongoing work. The Working Papers are evaluated by the editorial committee for quality and completeness before being published on the website.

Peer-reviewed publications can be found in the IMISCOE_AUP Book Series developed in co-operation with the Amsterdam University Press (AUP). One of these publications is based on the nine IMISCOE State of the Arts (of which this working paper is one): The dynamics of migration and settlement in Europe. A State of the Art. IMISCOE Joint Studies. Amsterdam: AUP, Rinus Penninx, Maria Berger and Karen Kraal (eds) (2006).

This report is the collaborative effort of the members of the research clusters and brings together their expertise in this specific field.

The IMISCOE Working Papers are part of IMISCOE which is an EU funded Network of Excellence in the Sixth Framework Programme

IMISCOE Network of Excellence
Karen Kraal (Communication Officer), tel. +31 (0)20 525 3659

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Russell King, Mark Thomson, Tony Fielding and Tony Warnes, SCMR-Sussex Centre for Migration and Population Studies, University of Sussex

research

Urban Policy

Social inclusion & integration