Methodological and Ethical Dilemmas in Research Among Smuggled Migrants

Ilse van Liempt*, Veronika Bilger

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

This chapter is based on experiences from several research projects on human smuggling and reflects on methodological and ethical concerns when considering fieldwork with smuggled migrants. It is argued that, already from the start, ethical issues may be beyond the control of researchers, as professional review boards themselves are in a powerful position to set the terms for selecting who should be included in research projects and who not. While today it is acknowledged that taking the migrant’s perspective into account is valuable, there are still some challenges to be dealt with. This chapter touches upon the issues of gaining access to participants and building up trust in a context of mistrust and how narrations might be influenced by external structural factors such as the migration experience, policies and administrations, smugglers or the migrant community itself.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationQualitative Research in European Migration Studies
EditorsRicard Zapata-Barrero, Evren Yalaz
Place of PublicationCham
PublisherSpringer
Pages269-285
Number of pages17
Edition1
ISBN (Electronic)978-3-319-76861-8
ISBN (Print)978-3-319-76860-1, 978-3-030-08311-3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 29 Jun 2018

Publication series

NameIMISCOE Research Series
ISSN (Print)2364-4087
ISSN (Electronic)2364-4095

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2018.

Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • Asylum Determination Process
  • Asylum Hearing
  • External Structural Factors
  • Human Smuggling
  • Vulnerable Migrants

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Methodological and Ethical Dilemmas in Research Among Smuggled Migrants'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this