Biographical method and its use in the field of migration studies

Abstract

Even though the migration is a very important phenomenon in contemporary society, the theoretical and methodological backgrounds used by scholars in examining this field are still in the process of consolidation. In order to contribute to the development of migration studies in Serbia, but also methodological discussions in general, the purpose of this paper is to shed some light on the biographical method that is most often defined as qualitative research approach and has obtained great importunacy within migration studies. The paper first gives an overview of the development of methodology used in the exploration of migration, after which it focuses on the characteristics of biographical method. The benefits of usage of this approach are presented on the material collected by author of this paper during her research with economically active female emigrants from Serbia, who lived in France and Germany.