Supporting ethical migration research: Practical recommendations for funding bodies

This policy brief aims to provide funding bodies with practical tools to anticipate and mitigate the risks associated with international migration research projects that combine traditional social research methods with social media analytics. Since 2015, migration has become an increasingly popular topic of research, with many funding programmes aiming at increasing our understanding of migration phenomena to inform policymaking in this area. Funding programmes often build on international and multidisciplinary consortia and use mixed-methods approaches to better grasp this complex phenomenon. However, migration research is a highly political and sensitive area, which carries multiple ethical challenges that are not always fully anticipated when designing and monitoring funding programmes. Building on the European Commission-funded project PERCEPTIONS, this policy brief highlights key points of vigilance when it comes to funding such types of migration research programmes. Ethical challenges are first outlined in relation to incidental findings, informed consent, profiling, bias, data sharing, and ethical approval procedures. Concrete recommendations are then provided for establishing processes that ensure that ethical issues are addressed and mitigated in a way that does not limit the development of research projects