This chapter describes the research design and methodology used in this study, the research framework, the hypotheses, the research procedure, sample and data collection. It also provides description of the research questionnaire which was used in this study, the validity and reliability.
Research Framework
According to the review of the literature, this research framework was formulated to discover the factors affecting local people’s attitude towards migrants in Russia in terms of in-group/out-group concept. From the review, it was explained that people’s attitude explained with many factors mentioned above. Those factors will be tested whether they are affected people’s attitude towards migrants.
In this study, the researcher used Social Identity Theory that could help to understand which factors affect the attitude of local people towards migrants in Russia. The research framework provides the variables and outlooks the research. The researcher hopes to provide useful information in terms of reasons of the big tension between local people and migrants which currently can be observed in Russia.
Figure 3.1. Research Framework
Research Procedure
The research procedure that was used during this study is shown in figure 3.2 and contains the following stages.
The first stage of the research procedure was the literature review, which was done in order to search for general topics of the researcher’s interest. The second stage is an identification of the research topic and framework, developing hypothesis. The third stage was the identification the research design and method of the study. Therefore researcher selected the Data from the ESS Database to measure all the variables in the study. The items in the questionnaire were selected according to the research questions. The next stage was analyzing the data and present the findings, conclusions and provide some recommendation.
Figure 3.2 Research Procedure
Research Methods
In this present study, quantitative method was adopted for fulfilling the purpose and proofing the framework. The ESS Round 8 data were used. Selected data will be analyzed. It was selected to investigate whether those factors might influence attitude of local people towards migrants in Russia.
In Russian Federation the Data collector was CESSI (Institute for Comparative Social Research) with help of National Coordinator Anna Andreenkova. A Russian Humanitarian Scientic Fund (RGNF) became a funding agency. The data of the Round 8 was collected by paper and pencil interview. Field work period was January 3, 2017 to March 19, 2017.
Population and Sample
The population of the current study are all Russian participants of the 8th round of ESS.
This gives a sample of 2430 responders, all of them were used as a sample population. The aim of the ESS sampling strategy is to develop and implement feasible and equivalent sampling plans in all participating countries including Russia. The selection in the ESS is carried out according to the following basic principles: samples representing all persons aged 15 years and older (without age limit) living in private households in the country, regardless of their nationality, citizenship or language; individuals are selected by strict methods of random probability at each stage; sampling frames for individuals, households and addresses may be used.
ESS Sampling Procedure in Russia
Sample structure: addresses of residential units in selected constituencies. The list of all housing units in the constituencies did not exist in advance and therefore was compiled by interviewers compiling a list of all housing units in each selected constituency and compiling their map. Sample Design: The design consists of two sample areas. The first domain includes all settlements, except the 15 largest cities, and the second - the 15 largest cities. The first domain has four sampling steps. At the first stage, settlements are selected by a stratified sample with a probability proportional to the population of settlements. Stratification across eight geographic areas. From each selected locality, two constituencies were selected by simple random sampling. From each selected constituency, 26 housing units were selected from a list compiled by the survey institute (there was not such list before the sample). From each dwelling, one person is randomly selected after listing people by gender and age (equivalent to the Kish grid). The second sampling area has three sampling stages. At the first stage, a stratified sample
of constituencies is selected. Stratification in 15 cities. The second and third stages (residential units and persons) went exactly the same as for the first domain. (European Social Survey, 2017)
Research Hypothesis
Hypothesis 1: Ethnic group affect the attitude towards migrants
Hypothesis 1a: Those who belong to the ethnic minority will have a more favorable attitude towards migrants in Russia than those who belong to the majority.
Hypothesis 1b: Those who belong to the majority ethnic group will have a more favorable attitude towards migrants from the same ethnic group.
Hypothesis 1c: Those who belong to the majority ethnic group will have a less favorable attitude towards migrants from different ethnic group.
Hypothesis 2: Those who held Citizenship of Russia will have a less favorable attitude towards migrants than those who do not held Citizenship of Russia.
Hypothesis 3: Origin of parents has an effect on the attitude towards migrants.
Hypothesis 3a: Those whose parents were not born in Russia have the most favorable attitude towards migrants in Russia.
Hypothesis 3b: Those whose mother were born in Russia have a less favorable attitude towards migrants than those whose parents were not born in Russia.
Hypothesis 3c: Those whose father were born in Russia have a less favorable attitude towards migrants than those whose parents were not born in Russia.
Hypothesis 3d: Those whose parents were born in Russia have the least favorable attitude towards migrants in Russia.
Data Source
In this study the researcher uses the data from the ESS to investigate the effect of the factors determining being in-group/out-group on the attitude of people living in Russia towards
migrants. European Social Research (ESS) is a scientifically based cross-country study that has been conducted throughout Europe since its inception in 2001. Personal interviews are conducted every two years using newly selected cross-samples.
The survey measures attitudes, beliefs, behaviors of various population groups in more than thirty countries. The main objectives of ESS are:
- outline stability and changes in the social structure, conditions and relations in Europe and explain how the social, political and moral structure of Europe is changing;
- achieve and disseminate stricter standards of rigor in international studies in the field of social sciences, including, for example, the development and preliminary testing of a questionnaire, sampling, data collection, and the reduction of bias and reliability problems;
- introduce reliable indicators of national progress based on the ideas and opinions of citizens about key aspects of their society;
- conduct and facilitate the training of European social researchers in comparative quantitative measurements and analysis;
- improve the visibility and dissemination of data on social changes among scientists, politicians and the general public.
ESS strives to achieve high methodological standards, striving for optimal comparability of data collected in all countries. This is possible only through the use of high-quality questions designed to ensure maximum comparability between countries.
ESS uses a carefully designed model for cross-national questionnaire design and pre-testing. A combination of qualitative and quantitative pre-testing strategies is used in the development process of each rotating module to try to achieve optimal comparability between countries.
The data used in this research was collected from projects in 2016-2017. Data was collected and coded in the SPSS 17 format by the ESS. All respondents supplied their demographic data of gender, age, education level, etc. In the ESS 8, data was collected via face-to-face interviews in all participating countries.
The research procedure was conducted step by step as shown in Fig below.
Figure 3.3 Research Procedure in ESS. Adapted from “E. Methodology Overview” by European Social Survey, 2017. Retrieved from
https://www.europeansocialsurvey.org/methodology/. Copyright 2019 by ESS ERIC.
ESS has 9 different sections in the questionnaire (ESS ERIC, 2018). Section A includes questions from A1 to A6 about media use, internet use, social trust. Section B includes questions from B1 to B43 about politics, including: political interest, trust, electoral and other forms of participation, party allegiance, socio-political orientations, immigration. Section C includes questions from C1 to C44 - Subjective wellbeing, social exclusion, crime, religion, perceived discrimination, national and ethnic identity, test questions (continued in section I), refugees. Section D includes questions from D1 to D32 about climate change and energy, including: attitudes, perceptions and policy preferences. Section E includes questions from E1to E42 about welfare, including attitudes towards welfare provision, size of claimant groups, attitudes towards service delivery and likely future dependence on welfare, vote intention in EU referendum. Section F includes questions from F1 to F61 about socio-demographic profile, including: household composition, sex, age, marital status, type of area, education &
occupation of respondent, partner, parents, union membership, income and ancestry. Section H has questions about human values scale. Section I contains test questions. Section J provides interviewer self-completion questions.
Measurement
The survey questionnaire used the following instruments of measurement for each variable.
To measure following variables the questions from section F (Socio-demographic profile, including: household composition, sex, age, marital status, type of area, education &
occupation of respondent, partner, parents, union membership, income and ancestry) were used Demographic questions
To measure gender variable the question “What is your gender?” was used. The options were dummy-coded as male=0 and female=1. To measure the age variable the question “And in what year were you born?” from the database was used. The answer had to be written in as the year of birth. The location variable was measured using one question from the database where the place responder is living had to be chosen. Responders were given the following options: Central FO, North Western FO, Volga FO, South FO, North Caucasian, Ural FO, Siberian FO, Far East FO. Responders were asked to identify which area (Federal Okrug) they are from.
Education
The education variable was measured using “About how many years of education have you completed, whether full-time or part time?” question from the database. Responders were asked to report these in full-time equivalents and include compulsory years of schooling and answer was round up or down to the nearest whole year.
Origin of parents
To measure “the origin of parents” variable two questions from the database were used –
“Was your father born in Russia?” and “Was your mother born in Russia?” The scale used for these questions had two options – Yes and No and was dummy-coded as 0=no, 1=yes.
Citizenship of Russia
The “Citizenship of Russia” variable was measured using “Are you a citizen of Russia?”
question from the database. The scale used for this question included Yes and No answers.
Belonging to minority
The “Belonging to the ethnic minority” variable was measured using “Do you belong to a minority ethnic group in Russia?” question from the database; the scale used for this question included Yes and No answers and was dummy-coded as 0=no, 1=yes.
Attitude towards migrants
The Variable Attitude towards migrants is measured using questions from the database from the section B (Politics, including: political interest, trust, electoral and other forms of participation, party allegiance, socio-political orientations, immigration.). In order to analyze the data, the variable “Attitude towards migrants” was created. The variable was aggregated from the five questions and measured by calculating the mean. If the mean is higher it shows more favorable attitude towards migrants, if the mean is lower it shows less favorable attitude towards migrants.
The first question described attitude of responders towards in terms of how migrants affect cultural life in Russia “And, using this card, would you say that Russia’s cultural life is generally undermined or enriched by people coming to live here from other countries?”. The responders were asked to rate their level of agreement with each statement from 0 (cultural life undermined) to 10 (cultural enriched). A high score represents a more favorable attitude towards migrants. A low score represents a less favorable attitude towards migrants.
The second question reflects attitude of responders towards migrants in terms of how migrants affect Russian economy “Would you say it is generally bad or good for Russian economy that people come to live here from other countries?” The responders were asked to rate their level of agreement with each statement from 0 (Bad for the economy) to 10 (Good for the economy). A high score represents a more favorable attitude towards migrants. A low score represents a less favorable attitude towards migrants.
The third question reflects attitude of responders towards migrants in terms of how migrants affect Russia as place of living in general “Is Russia made a worse or a better place to live by people coming to live here from other countries?”. The responders were asked to rate their level of agreement with each statement from 0 (Worse place to live) to 10 (Better place to live). A high score represents a more favorable attitude towards migrants. A low score represents a less favorable attitude towards migrants.
The forth question reflects attitude of responders towards migrants of the same race as most Russian people “Now, using this card, to what extent do you think Russia should allow
people of the same race or ethnic group as most Russian people to come and live here?”. The responders were asked to rate their level of agreement with each statement from 1 (Allow many to come and live here) to 4 (Allow none). A high score represents a less favorable attitude towards migrants. A low score represents a more favorable attitude towards migrants. In order to analyze the data, the answers of this questions were reversed using SPSS.
The fifth question reflects attitude of responders towards migrants of a different race from most Russian people “How about people of a different race or ethnic group from most Russian people?”. The responders were asked to rate their level of agreement with each statement from 1 (Allow many to come and live here) to 4 (Allow none). A high score represents a less favorable attitude towards migrants. A low score represents a more favorable attitude towards migrants. In order to analyze the data, the answers of this questions were reversed using SPSS.
Validity and Reliability
The validity and reliability of this study is based on the selection of the sample size obtained during the 8th round of ESS. The validity of an instrument is basically the degree to which the instrument measures variables. In order to achieve its research objectives and ensure the collection of ESS data using the highest methodological standards, the ESS Main Scientific Group (CST) conducts a series of activities related to the assessment of data quality throughout the survey life cycle and in all rounds of ESS: assessing the quality and comparability of the tools it measures, assessing the composition of the socio-demographic sample using external reference data, and assessing the quality of the survey process and results. The researcher obtained content credibility from ESS and leads a core research team (CST) led by Rory Fitzgerald, director of ESS ERIC at City, University of London, UK. The results of the questionnaire provided a reliable interpretation of the questionnaire and the general scope of the study. The total number of samples was 2340. ESS survey samples adequately reflect the main target population. ESS uses a comparison of survey results with independent and more accurate population parameter information.
ESS uses a carefully designed model for cross-national questionnaire design and pre-testing. A combination of qualitative and quantitative pre-testing strategies is used in the development of each rotating module to try to achieve optimal comparability among countries.
The source questionnaire is compiled in British English, but this process is permeated with an intercultural contribution (both methodological and subject). The design and development process took 20 months - from the appointment of a successful team of developers of the questions module to the release of the initial questionnaire for the round. It includes expertise
from CST members as well as national teams, as well as characteristics of coding elements to predict their validity and reliability using Survey Quality Predictor (SQP), cognitive interviewing, preliminary translation and quantitative testing in summary surveys and in two national pilot polls. (European Social Survey, 2018)
Validity of questions picked as measures of variables in this research will be examined by three content experts.
In order to analyze the data, the variable “Attitude towards migrants” was created and measured using 5 variables, validity and reliability were checked using factor analysis and reliability analyses. According to factor analysis Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy=0.773 which is acceptable. Component matrix shows that all items load
meaningfully on the component, only one item shows result slightly smaller than 0.7 which is considered as high. Communalities table shows result more than 0.5, except one item which shows result 0.419 which is still acceptable. Therefore, Factor Analysis shows construct validity in reflecting similar concept.
According to the Reliability analysis Cronbach’s Alpha is more than 0.7 which is acceptable.
Data Analysis
This study utilized SPSS as the statistical tool. For the Data Analysis SPSS 17.0 version was used. The SPSS descriptive analysis was applied for analyzing respondent information and acquiring descriptive data report to analyze the demographics of the respondents to reveal the sample profile.
Moreover, this study was utilized correlation to find initial relationships on the hypotheses among the variables. Correlation was performed to check how strongly the variables are related to each other and the degree of association between the two. (emotional attachment to Russia, origin of parents, citizenship of Russia, belonging to the ethnic minority, attitude towards migrants).
T-test was conducted to test the differences between two groups of participants by comparing means and standard deviations of each group.
One-way ANOVA test was conducted in order to compare the variance in the group means within a sample whilst considering only one independent variable, it was aimed to evaluate multiple mutually exclusive theories about the data.