GEOGRAFIA dos AFECTOS

What is the purpose of the study?

In the last couple of decades, transnationalism became a significant field of study, bringing together different disciplines with the aim of investigating the kinds of connections people maintain across national borders.

 

Empirical studies conducted to date show that the transnationality of migrants all over the word and across different groups, is not clear when it comes to the transnational involvement of "second and third generations": some claim that such involvement is inexistent or irrelevant, others say that it is very real and important to their social integration and identity building; yet others emphasize the profound economic, social and political implications both for the nation of ethnic origin and for that of residence. On the other hand, research suggests that family and kinship relationships are a valuable social resource in (re)affirming notions of cultural, ethnic and family belonging as well as transnational behaviors.

 

These are the very arguments that support my research project on transnationalism among the offspring of Portuguese migrants. The research takes place and compares two territories (Canada - Toronto and France - Paris) and aims a) to understand to which extent these young people are involved in transnational social networks, b) how and in which contexts are they engaged and which are the causes, c) to what extent do these transnational connections occur, and d) what are the resulting effects of such connections.

 

The research focuses on the analysis of the social networks of these young individuals, exploring the role of the Portuguese diaspora and the social, regional and political environments they live in and in between. The research work is expected to be completed in 2015.

 

Why have I been invited to participate?

Including in the study all the persons who might fit in the study description would be an enormous and almost impossible task to be carried out, not only because this is a large population and we have limited time, human and material resources but also because this population share one or more common attributes that are masked and therefore difficult to define, locate and measure, that is, they can be consider what researchers call, a hidden population. Therefore we decided to select a subset of individuals from within the major group of people we could study (the method is called sampling). In this specific case, the people we are going to contact and include in our study will be selected using three complementary procedures. The first one consists on selecting people who are close to hand, that is, a person is selected because of its suitability and because it is readily available, or it may be by meeting the person by chance and including her in the sample. The second procedure consists in asking a person with whom we already talked to nominate another person with a similar trait of interest and who might be willing to participate in the research. Then the researcher contacts the nominated subjects and invites them to collaborate in the study (technique called snowballing - it works like chain referral). And the third method consists in disseminating the study in relevant contexts and try to obtain the largest possible number of contributions from people who randomly meet the necessary requirements to respond to our questions. These procedures are repeated until the number set as sufficient is reached or the time defined for this task is exhausted.

 

These are the processes through you and all the other people are being chosen to take part in the study. We would like you to give us your consent to participate in this study as we believe that you can make an important contribution to the research. However, it must be clear that your participation is voluntary, it is up to you to decide whether you want to take part in it or not. If you do not wish to participate you do not have to do anything in response to this request. If you decide to take part in it you will be asked to sign a consent form and you are still free to withdraw at any time and without giving a reason.

 

What will happen to me if I take part in this research?

Taking part in this study won’t bring you any risks or any direct and personal benefits and the only possible disadvantages/costs involved might be the time spent in answering our questions. Nevertheless, by participating in the study, the information you provide can contribute for furthering our understanding of the topic and allow us to bring beneficial outcomes, including a greater and better knowledge of the Portuguese Diaspora and in particular of Portuguese Canadians, mostly with regard to its current characteristics, forms of organization, the types and modes of belonging and identity construction; to the debate and practical application on the issue of the nation-state and its importance with regard to its relation with the migration processes, in particular its role in the definition of integration policies, citizenship and immigration policies.

 

The data will be collected through a questionnaire in which you are asked to answer several questions regarding your social networks and the Portuguese community, your perceptions and feelings about some issues regarding interpersonal relations and the daily life in the place you live in. There will also be some questions about you and your life. Answering all the questions might take you about two hours, depending on the information disclosed.

 

Will what I say in this study be kept confidential?

All information which is collected will be kept strictly confidential and will be anonymised i.e. made anonymous. Only members of the research team will have access to the information you give us.

 

All data collection, storage and processing will comply with the principles of the Data Protection Act 67/98 (Lei 67/98 – Lei da Protecção de Dados Pessoais). Under no circumstances will identifiable responses be provided to any other third party.

 

Data generated by the study will be retained in accordance with the University's policy on Academic Integrity. The data generated in the course of the research will be kept securely in paper and/or electronic form for a minimum period of 5 years after the completion of the research project. The recordings are made anonymous and cannot be linked to any personal information. Information emanating from the analysis will only be made public in a completely unattributable format or at the aggregate level in order to ensure that no participant will be identified.

 

What will happen to the results of the research study?

All information provided by you and further analysis will be stored anonymously on a personal computer and DVD. No individuals taking part in the study will be identified in any study reports or publications with the results.

 

The results from this study will be available in one or more of the following sources: published dissertation; scientific papers, academic/specialized journals; presentations at a regional, national or international conferences or local seminars.

 

A copy of the published research will be available at the University of Lisbon Institutional Repository, following the University Intellectual Output Policy.

 

A copy of the published research can be obtained upon request. That can be done through the email referred in contacts or by providing a contact through which we can reach you.

 

Who has reviewed the study and is funding the research?

This project has been approved by the Scientific Committee of the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Lisbon where is being undertaken. It has been granted with a PhD Scholarship from FCT, body of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education of the Portuguese Government (SFRH/BD/81796/2011) and received the support of the Azorean Regional Directorate for the Communities.