Qualitative analysis of migrants' network data

Using conceptual reflexivity to reveal the ‘magic trick’

Bibliographic Data

ID9954664
AuthorsA D''Angelo (0000-0003-2504-4643, University of Derby Derby UK, corresponding author), L Ryan (0000-0003-1386-7212, London Metropolitan University London UK)
Year2024
Volume63
Issue2
Publication date2024-03-20
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Migration (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-7985 • E-ISSN: 1468-2435
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/imig.13257
OpenAlexW4393001915
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited48

While in recent years, qualitative social network analysis (SNA) has advanced considerably – particularly in migration research – there is still an overall tendency to focus more on issues of network structure and on the generation of data, rather than on how data can be interpreted and analysed qualitatively in practice. In this article, we discuss how a genuinely qualitative SNA should not only apply qualitative techniques in generating visual and oral network data but also in the analytical processes. Building on our earlier work, we advance methodological debates by presenting the idea of ‘conceptual reflexivity’: an awareness of how our thinking about networks and the ways in which we interact with participants – and the wider field – inform layers of meaning making. Using two recent examples from our migration research, we explore the inter‐subjectivity of the research encounter, offering insights into the ‘craft’ of qualitative SNA and the epistemological issues underpinning it. In doing so, we aim to make analytical processes more open and visible, to reveal, so to speak, what goes on behind the curtain: the ‘magic trick’ of how qualitative SNA is performed

Epistemology · Machine learning · MAGIC (telescope · Physics · Qualitative property · Qualitative research · Reflexivity · Social science · Sociology · Computer Science · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Philosophy · Social Capital and Networks

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Open DOIOpen Access