Tag Archives: Religion

A story of 50000 Turks from 2000 families over three generations

New data can answer key migration questions

Questions about the real benefits of migrating from one country to another can now be answered with the help of the unprecedented 2000 Families data.

The research team led by Dr Ayse Guveli at the University of Essex spent 5 years collecting information about men who migrated from certain regions of Turkey to Europe in the 1960s and the impact this had on their lives, the lives of their children and their grandchildren no matter where they ended up in the world.

The study, 2000 Families: Migration Histories of Turks in Europe, has collected and now published information on nearly 50,000 individuals.

The data includes information about the complete genealogies of 2000 ancestors who were born in five high sending regions in Turkey between 1925 and 1945. Eighty per cent of these ancestors moved to Europe between 1960 and 1974 while 20% stayed put.

From basic information about where they are from, their age and sex to their education and jobs, their religion, family and friendship networks and their attitudes, beliefs and orientation about gender roles, politics and culture, the data is now available for researchers around the world to use in their efforts to better understand the real impacts of migration.

The researchers behind the project have already published a book which takes a first look at what the study can tell us about how migrants get on compared with those who stay behind.

From the sort of education and jobs they get to how many children they have, their attitudes towards gender equality and religion, the book provides fascinating insights into the effects of migration on families over three to four generations.

Ayse Guveli hopes other researchers will now delve into the freely-available data-set to look at a range of migration research questions.

Because we collected information from those who left, those who stayed and those who returned, this detailed and rich information can help us understand much better who benefits and who loses in the migration process. We also get a much better feel for the impact that moving has on people’s attitudes and beliefs around important issues such as gender equality and arranged marriage.

The data is available to download from the GESIS data service.

Listen to lead researcher Ayse Guveli talk about the 2000 Families project .

 

Photo credit: 4 en 5 mai Amsterdam

2000 Families Podcast launches

The 2000 Families podcast series has launched this week with its first episode now available on our website and on iTunes, where you can subscribe to the series and future episodes.

Lead researcher Ayse Guveli kicks our podcast off with an interview about the background to the study, the data that has been collected from the study’s 50,000  participants and an overview of some of the study’s first findings.

Future episodes will include interviews with Ayse’s international team of academics about their research using the data. They will include findings about education and work, family and friends, marriage and fertility, religion, attitudes and beliefs.

The series is produced and edited by former BBC journalist, Christine Garrington of Research Podcasts.

Photo credit: Mardin by Evgeni Zotov

2000 Families: Podcast 01- The Study

The first research findings from our unprecedented and unique research study looking at the lives of 50,000 Turkish family members have been published in a fascinating new book.

The book examines how Turkish migrants, their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren have benefited from moving to Europe by looking at a whole range of things from their education and work to friends and family, religion and culture.

Its approach is unique in that it compares the lives of those who migrated to nine different European countries with those families who chose not to leave.

In the first episode of our 2000 Families Podcast, lead researcher on the study, Dr Ayse Guveli from the University of Essex explains the background to this Norface funded project.

Photo credit: Yavuz Selim Uylas

Book showcases first findings

A book showcasing the first research findings from the 2000 Families project has now been published.

The book looks at how Turkish migrants, their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren have benefited from moving to Europe by comparing a range of outcomes to those of Turkish families who stayed behind.

From the jobs they got to how they got on at school and university, their relationships with friends and family to their attitudes towards religion, marriage, gender and Turkish culture, the book provides a fascinating insight into the lives of the Turkish diaspora.

Lead researcher on the project behind the book, Ayse Guveli, said:

‘Migration is a life-changing experience not only for migrants themselves but also for those left behind. Our unique approach and the unprecedented  data we have collected from 2000 Turkish families and their 50,000 family members reveals the true impact of migration across many aspects of their lives.’

Intergenerational consequences of migration: Socio-economic, family and cultural patterns of stability and change in Turkey and Europe is written by  Ayse Guveli, Harry B.G. Ganzeboom, Lucinda Platt, Bernhard Nauck, Helen Baykara-Krumme, Ṣebnem Eroḡlu, Sait Bayrakdar, Efe K. Sözeri, and Niels Spierings.

The book is published by Palgrave Macmillan.

Returning, staying or both?

Returning, staying, or both? Mobility patterns among elderly Turkish migrants after retirement is research looking at when and why long-term migrants stay or leave their destination country.

The article, by 2000 Families researcher Helen Baykara-Krumme uses the data to look at the movements of the study’s participants when they retire; whether they stay in their destination country, permanently move back to their country of origin or go back and forth.

The study finds that transnational migration is common among participants aged 65 or over. Key factors in a permanent return to Turkey are owning property there and religiosity.

Transmigrants and stayers in Europe have intense transnational ties with a strong attachment to their country of origin.