THEMIS timeline

Phase 1

Phase 1 involved the development of our conceptual theory and producing scoping studies in all 4 destinations countries for our 6 shortlisted countries of origin: Bangladesh, Brazil, Egypt, India, Morocco and Ukraine.

Phase 2

During Phase 2 semi-structured qualitative interviews were carried out in 1 or 2 localities within all 4 THEMIS destination countries, with migrants arrived from each of Brazil, Morocco and Ukraine. Relationships were established with relevant local migrant organizations and communities to locate interviewees and to increase our understanding of heterogeneity of migration patterns by these groups.

Phase 3

Phase 3 - with semi-structured qualitative interviews in Brazil, Morocco and Ukraine. In each country, working with local research partners, interviews were carried out with return migrants, and with family members of migrants with links to the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal or the UK. [Several sampling localities per origin country were chosen based on migration histories mapped from Phase 2 data].

Phase 4

Quantitative data was collected in Phase 4 with surveys in both destination and then origin countries. Data and knowledge gained from earlier THEMIS phases was used to develop detailed hypotheses about how migration systems evolve and to develop appropriate survey instruments for testing these.

Phase 5

The final formal phase involved analysis our qualitative and quantitative data and testing hypotheses derived from our initial theoretical synthesis. At our THEMIS international migration conference 'Examining Migration Dynamics: Networks an Beyond', Oxford, 24-26 September 2013, we reflected on findings and discussed widely with visiting researchers. This all fed back into our theoretical framework and led towards the formulation of an improved migration systems theory.