Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores the issues raised and discussed in it are, of a wider character; they concern the status of social research methods in general and qualitative methods in particular regarding explanatory power and emancipatory potential. It demonstrates the inherent strengths of qualitative methods can be fully implemented and appreciated when these methods are designed and applied within a critical realist meta-theoretical framework. The book starts with a concise coverage of key developments of migratory movements in the twentieth century globally, with a special emphasis on Europe and North America. It continues with a critical exploration of the main theoretical frameworks for explaining migration, notably micro-level, structuralist, transnationalism and social capital theories along with synthetic attempts to account for the complexities of the phenomenon. It discusses various epistemological and methodological approaches to migration research, notably methodological individualism, holism/collectivism, structuration and social realist approaches.