Abstract
The objectives of this chapter are to (1) demonstrate how geographical knowledge is produced by research, (2) provide examples of research outcome using quantitative and qualitative methods, (3) demonstrate how different methods would produce different findings, and (4) discuss the pitfalls of different research methods. The two enduring approaches to the study of human geography, using published/unpublished Census data and interview data collected in the field are first presented. It is followed by several studies to illustrate the quantitative and qualitative approaches. The quantitative method is demonstrated by a bibliometric analysis of publications on human geography in Taiwan, employment of the Taiwan-born in Australia, and return of Hong Kong immigrants to Canada are presented to reveal general patterns. The qualitative approach used to investigate ethnic business that engage Taiwanese-Chinese immigrants in Australia, cross-border parental care of Taiwanese-Chinese to practice filial piety, and intended return migration of Taiwanese-Chinese in Hong Kong, are meant to provide nuanced understanding of immigrants’ complex circumstances and experience. While qualitative studies are appealing in human geography in the English literature, a qualitative–quantitative divide in geography should not be emphasized to lose sight of collaboration and methodological pluralism.
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Acknowledgements
My heartfelt thanks go to the Department of Geography, National Taiwan University, for providing me with the environment for my research. My appreciation goes to Shawn Sun for looking up recent references on qualitative methods, formatting the manuscript, and offering valuable insights as a graduate student.
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Nora, C.L.H. (2023). Qualitative and Quantitative Methods as Applied to International Migration. In: Mustafa, F.B. (eds) Methodological Approaches in Integrated Geography. Springer Texts in Social Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28784-8_7
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