Immigration Statistics A Story of Neglect (1985) / Chapter Skim
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6 The Role of Nongovernmental Activities in Immigration Studies
6 The Role of Nongovernmental Activities in Immigration Studies
Pages 101-109
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From page 101... ...
Moreover, most of the current analysis of immigration data is done outside government, by university researchers, foundations, private firms, and others in the private sector. The immigration statistics system is thus even larger (and less systematic)
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From page 102... ...
Outside government, there is, if anything, even greater diversity and decentralization. Unofficial data are produced by intensive ethnographic studies of immigrants and of communities of both origin and destination of migrants, local surveys and compilations of local data, reconstructions of historical series from existing but unsystematized data, and many other collection processes.
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From page 103... ...
Given the limited social and economic variables available in census files and the virtual absence of cultural indicators, it is not surprising that most immigration studies relying on census data focus on the socioeconomic characteristics of the foreign-born population, usually differentiated by national origin and occasionally by period of arrival. Census micro data encourage the use of individuals or households as units of analysis, but analysis by aggregates such as area of residence could portray the macro dimensions of social phenomena.
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From page 104... ...
Ethnographic Data The main strengths of ethnographic data lie in their depth and comprehensive coverage of an immigrant community or a specific aspect of the immigration process. Ethnographic data provide a great deal more information about social processes and interactions that structure immigration flows than do conventional survey data.
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From page 105... ...
Survey Data The strengths of unofficial survey data complement the weaknesses of ethnographic data and vice versa. The primary strengths of unofficial surveys relative to official sources are their flexibility in selecting the number and scope of topics to be included and their ability to ask sensitive questions; relative to ethnographic studies, their strengths are that the population universe can be clearly and explicitly defined, that they adhere to statistical standards permitting the evaluation of possible sampling errors, and that they are amenable to rigorous empirical analysis.
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From page 106... ...
The generalizability, substantive content, and amenability of unofficial surveys to rigorous secondary analyses of immigration issues varies with the objectives and design of the original data collection. Although cross-sectional surveys can be designed to deal with the timing of events
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From page 107... ...
Even given current data production systems, these strategies appear underexploited and offer scope for useful research effort. OBSTACLES TO DATA ANALYSIS The bulk of analysis of immigration data, whether collected under official or unofficial auspices, is done by the private sector, but accessible data can be analyzed.
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From page 108... ...
Once again, the problems of data production haunt data analysis, although indirectly in this case. It should be noted, however, that the National Institutes of Health, through the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, have been making efforts recently to encourage the submission of research proposals in the immigration field and to increase the funding allotted to it.
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From page 109... ...
109 o Insofar as is feasible, official government data on immigrants and refugees should be made available to researchers outside the government; o The proposed Division of Immigration Statistics in the INS should establish and maintain contacts with the research community and keep it informed about the availability of data and changes in procedures. This recommendation also applies to all other agencies that produce immigrat ion data; and o Government agencies that provide funds for research should be encouraged to stimulate the submission of research proposals in the immigration field and to give particular attention to sound proposals for relevant research studies in the area.
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