Promoting methodological innovation and capacity building in research on ethnicity
ESRC-funded NCRM Network for Methodological Innovation
Angela Dale, James Nazroo, Sarah Salway and Lucinda Platt
There were four one-day workshops, listed below. The workshops provided an opportunity for up to 40 participants to hold intensive discussions over key methodological issues in ethnicity-related research.
1. What is ethnicity? What methods best capture it?
Friday 14 May, University of Essex (Fully booked)
This topic will open up questions about the objective existence of ‘ethnicity’ and discuss the role of categorisation.
2. Methods to assess and understand the role of context in ethnic inequalities
Tuesday 29 June, Royal Statistical Society, London
Neighbourhood or area is an important concept in research in the area of ethnicity, in part because minority ethnic groups tend to be heavily concentrated in particular geographical areas. How do we unpack the role of ‘area’ in explaining ethnic inequalities? for example, does ethnic concentration, itself, play a significant impact or is it simply a proxy for the level of deprivation in the area? What is the role of peer groups and friendship networks and what methods are available to asses them?
3. Research methods for new immigrant groups
Friday 10 September, Martin Harris Centre, University of Manchester
Many UK surveys of ethnic minorities target the largest and most established ethnic groups. In part this is because of the methodological difficulties of collecting reliable information on new migrants, which include not just small numbers but the status of some migrants (e.g. asylum seekers; illegal immigrants), language difficulties and the fluidity of the populations. However, these groups often have the greatest need for support services. Small scale local studies may offer innovative solutions to identifying these ‘hard to reach’ groups.
4. Mixed methods with large and small scale research
Tuesday 9 November, Workstation, Sheffield
The workshop will include four papers based on recent empirical studies that have sought to integrate mixed methodologies to explore and understand aspects of ethnic identity and ethnic inequality. Papers will discuss the conceptual and methodological challenges encountered and the solutions adopted. The workshop will include ample time for group discussion around the advantages and disadvantages of adopting mixed methodologies as well as alternative approaches to integrating and presenting findings derived from diverse sources. The workshop will also include presentations of work-in-progress by PhD students.
Final conference: Researching ethnicity: what, why and how?
Friday 11 March 2011, Manchester Conference Centre
Programme and presentations
The conference highlights some of the methodological issues identified during the previous workshops and offers an opportunity for reflection and discussion. We welcome participants from across all sectors. There is no charge for attendance and we can offer assistance with travel if needed.
Closing meeting:
Researching ethnicity: ethics, politics and communication
Monday 16 May 2011, JRF, London
This is a closed meeting. Programme
A closed round-table meeting to wrap up the ESRC researching ethnicity seminar series. All participants will be expected to contribute to the discussion, with topics introduced in short 5-10 minute presentations from the presenters own perspective.