2. The Development and Use of Longitudinal Surveys of Migrants:
Methodological and Policy Perspectives
SUMMARY
Organizers:
Stephen Dunstan
NEW ZEALAND Immigration Service,
stephend@nzis.dol.govt.nz
Tom Jensen
British Columbia Ministry of Multiculturalism and Immigration
CANADA
tom.jensen@ag.gov.bc.ca
Richard Bedford
University of Waikato
NEW ZEALAND
rdb@waikato.ac.nz
Description:
Providing, interpreting and making use of research about the settlement
experiences of new migrants is an area of compelling interest for
researchers, policy makers, and NGOs. The aim of this workshop is to explore
how research, in particular longitudinal research, can offer policy makers
and the providers of settlement services an opportunity to gain significant
insights into the settlement processes, outcomes and difficulties faced by
migrants as they establish themselves in a new society. The workshop will
discuss difficulties associated with carrying out such research, ranging from
identifying and measuring outcomes to design decisions that impact on the
types of information that can be collected and reported.
National longitudinal surveys in particular are becoming an increasingly
popular method for examining the outcomes of immigration and settlement
policies. Most of the migrant receiving countries have either conducted a
national longitudinal study of recent immigrants or are in the process of
implementing such a study. Australia and Israel have conducted major
surveys, while New Zealand, Canada and the United States of America are all
currently at different stages of developing and carrying out these surveys.
Longitudinal research is expensive and it has been more common to restrict
such an approach to data collection to small samples. The workshop also
features some examples of sub-national longitudinal research in Canada,
drawing on both special purpose survey data as well as administrative data
bases that contain records that can be linked to provide a longitudinal
perspective.
The workshop will feature international comparisons through presentations by
survey design specialists, researchers and policy makers from a number of
major migrant receiving countries. Research methods to be featured are the
development and use of longitudinal surveys and the analysis of
administrative databases.
Presenters
Richard Bedford, University of Waikato, NEW ZEALAND Abstract
Andrew Benson, British Columbia Ministry of Multiculturalism and Immigration, CANADA
Stephen Dunstan, NEW ZEALAND Immigration Service Abstract
Linda W. Gordon, Immigration and Naturalization Service, UNITED STATES
Graeme Hugo
, University of Adelaide, AUSTRALIA 
