Using Organic Data in Migration Research

Abstract

This paper introduces a special issue of International Migration Review and overviews the promise and limitations of organic data for migration research. We explain different approaches to collecting and analyzing timely open-source organic data, and how it can be integrated with traditional administrative and survey data. After identifying the promise and limitations of specific organic data sources, we offer two empirical examples that illustrate how organic data may be used in research on migration and displacement. One example uses Ukrainian-language tweets to capture changing day-to-day dynamics during the initial stages of an emerging conflict. The second examines how a significant policy change in Colombia is associated with xenophobic conversation about Venezuelan migrants using Spanish-language tweets. Together, they illustrate how organic data may be used to examine the shifting dynamics of migration and forced migration.