Data Explorer

World map cropped down to include MENA and West African countries

Perspectives on Migration and Integration (TRANSMIT) — MENA — West-Africa

Transnational Perspectives on Migration and Integration (TRANSMIT) collects data in Lebanon, Türkiye, Morocco, Italy, Nigeria, Senegal, the Gambia, and Germany. TRANSMIT is a migration research project of the DeZIM-Forschungsgemeinschaft (DeZIM FG) and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ). The project is carried out in cooperation with the Berliner Institut für empirische Integrations- und Migrationsforschung (BIM), the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), the Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies (IMIS), the Mannheim Center for European Social Research (MZES) and the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB). The project studies the complex interplay between migration dynamics, migrants' well-being and integration processes by building a transnational data infrastructure that collects and links quantitative and qualitative data and knowledge on countries of origin, transit and destination.

The data presented in the MENA TRANSMIT Data Explorer was drawn from the first (Türkiye) and second (Lebanon) wave of an ongoing longitudinal survey of Syrians living in Lebanon and Türkiye collected in face-to-face interviews between September 2020 and February 2021 as part of the TRANSMIT research project. The study aims at providing a nationally representative sample of the respective Syrian populations in the two countries, as well as a sample of the host population living in the same neighborhoods and covers a broad set of questions on respondent's family structure, demographic and psychological characteristics, migration experiences, economic, social and physical well-being. Sampling was conducted via multilevel area sampling and random walks.

Baseline Sampling

The baseline survey in Lebanon took place in 2019 and in Türkiye in 2020. In each case, the study population included all individuals with a minimum age of 15 years who were in Lebanon and Türkiye, respectively, at the time of this initial survey and who were living in non-segregated institutions (e.g., prison, barracks). The survey was stratified by country of birth of the head of household, such that 50% of respondents were from Syrian households and 50% were from non-Syrian households. Because detail registry data for the Syrian population in either country is not available, the selection of respondents took place through multilevel area sampling combined with the random walk method. For this, interviewers walked the streets in the selected neighborhood according to predetermined rules to select households for participation. Within the households that agree to participate, the choice of the interviewee(s) is also random (within age requirements).

Follow-up

Follow-up surveys were conducted in Lebanon in 2020/21 (LE wave 2), 2021/22 (LE wave 3) and 2022 (LE wave 4), and in Türkiye in 2020/21 (TC wave 2) and 2022 (TC wave 3). In each case, respondents from the previous survey wave(s) were first contacted and asked to participate in the survey again. The re-contacting of the participants took place on the basis of the addresses at which the previous interview had taken place. If the respondents could not be found, two additional visits were made a few days apart. If it was still not possible to contact the persons, they were contacted by telephone, if their telephone numbers were available, and an interview appointment was arranged. If the persons could not be reached or refused to participate in the study again, the contact attempts were discontinued and the contact data of the respondents were permanently deleted.

Due to the dropout of participants for the follow-up surveys, additional participants were selected as a refresher sample according to the sampling process described above. If the target number of participants, or the quota of Syrian and non-Syrian households, could not be met through interviews within the neighborhoods of participants in the previous surveys, additional neighborhoods were selecte. The selection of these additional neighborhoods is equivalent to the area sampling strategy of the previous survey.

Interview Process

The survey was conducted through Computer Assisted Personal Interviews (CAPI), based on questionnaires designed by the project team for the survey context of Lebanon. In the case of Lebanon, the interviews were conducted in Arabic by native speakers. In Türkiye, the interviews were conducted in Arabic or Turkish according to the preference of the participants. In both cases, a native speaker conducted the interviews. After explaining the purpose and content of the study and obtaining the consent of the participants, the interview was conducted in an ideally secluded place in the premises of the interviewee, which was determined by the interviewee him-/herself. Interviews lasted on average between 45-60 min. Participants were free to pause the interview at any time, skip individual questions, or stop the interview.

Data Processing

The data provided in the Data Explorer have been cleaned of outlier observations based on standardized criteria and are fully processed. Prospectively, follow-up Waves of the survey will be added to the Data Explorer as they become available.

The data presented in the West Africa TRANSMIT Data Explorer is drawn from the two waves of longitudinal surveys conducted in Senegal, the Gambia and Nigeria, respectively. The surveys were conducted as face-to-face interviews as part of the TRANSMIT research project, between 2019 and 2023. The surveys aim at providing regionally (Senegal and Nigeria) and nationally (the Gambia) representative samples of the respective populations in these countries, covering a broad set of questions on respondent's family structure, demographic characteristics, migration experiences and aspirations as well as on economic and social well-being. Sampling was conducted via random stratified sampling and random walks.

Baseline Sampling

The baseline surveys in Senegal and the Gambia took place in 2019, while the first wave in Nigeria was conducted in 2021. In case of Senegal and the Gambia, the study population includes individuals between the ages of 15 and 35, the age during which people are most likely to migrate. In Nigeria, the sample population includes individuals aged 15 and older.

In the Gambia, the survey took place between March and April 2019. A nationwide random stratified sampling (14 substrata subdivided into 4098 districts out of which 164 districts were randomly drawn) weighted by the relative population shares of 10- to 30-year-olds in the 2013 census was implemented.

The survey conducted in Senegal was implemented in Dakar and Casamance regions between October and December 2019. In Casamance, three regions were covered (Ziguinchor, Kolda, Sédhiou), stratified by rural / urban area and weighted by relative population shares.

The baseline survey in Nigeria took place in April and May 2021, in the federal states of Edo and Kaduna. A two-stage random sampling procedure was implemented, first selecting 125 5x5km clusters, followed by the selection of the corresponding number of smaller 500x500 meter clusters within each bigger cluster, using probabilities proportional to the population size.

In all three countries, random stratified sampling was combined with a random walk method, where interviewers walked the streets in the selected neighbourhood according to predetermined rules to select households for participation. Within the households that agree to participate, the choice of the interviewee(s) is also random (within age requirements).

Second Wave

Second waves of all surveys were conducted in Senegal and the Gambia (Senegal wave 2, the Gambia wave 2) in 2021, and in Nigeria (Nigeria wave 2) in 2023. Conducting the survey in the same geographical locations as chosen by the respective procedure in the first waves, new survey respondents were recruited using a random walk procedure starting at the location of respondents from the initial survey wave.

Interview Process

The surveys were conducted through Computer Assisted Personal Interviews (CAPI), based on questionnaires designed by the project team. In the case of Senegal and the Gambia, the interviews were conducted in French or, if the respondent did not speak French, in a local language. In Nigeria, the interviews were conducted in either English or Nigerian Pidgin, according to the preference of the participants. In both cases, a native speaker conducted the interviews. After explaining the purpose and content of the study and obtaining the consent of the participants, the interview was conducted in an ideally secluded place in the premises of the interviewee, which was determined by the interviewee him-/herself. Interviews lasted on average between 45-60 min. Participants were free to pause the interview at any time, skip individual questions, or stop the interview.

Data Processing

The data provided in the Data Explorer have been cleaned of outlier observations based on standardized criteria and are fully processed.

The web application was developed by Long Nguyen (source code). The content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.