Survey instruments and survey data on migration aspirations

The report presents a comprehensive inventory of 212 surveys and 276 core questions focused on migration aspirations, defined as the mental constructs including desires, intentions, plans, and expectations for migration. It analyzes these instruments through a framework that distinguishes between the nature and timeframe of the mindset and the action. The findings reveal a geographic concentration of research in Europe and Central Asia, a high prevalence of surveys targeting students and health workers, and a general lack of data availability, with only 25% of datasets reported as available. The authors conclude with 21 recommendations to improve the quality, translatability, and reporting of migration aspiration surveys.

• The authors compiled a systematic inventory of 212 surveys and a question bank containing 276 core questions specifically addressing migration aspirations.
• Geographic coverage of the surveyed data is heavily skewed toward Europe and Central Asia, which account for 50% of all surveys.
• The most common survey populations are the general population (54%), followed by students (19%), migrant populations (8%), and health workers (6%).
• Data availability for these surveys is low, with only 25% of the datasets reported as available via download or request.
• The authors developed an analytical framework to deconstruct survey questions into components: the nature and timeframe of the mindset, and the nature and timeframe of the action.
• The nature of the mindset in migration surveys is categorized into eight types: consideration, preference, willingness, necessity, planning, intention, expectation, and likelihood.
• A significant majority of survey questions (83%) focus on the act of leaving, while only 8% focus on staying and 6% are balanced between the two.
• Approximately 16% of the core questions include explicit conditionality, such as hypothetical scenarios involving the provision of legal documents.
• The report recommends using multiple complementary questions to measure aspirations, specifically prioritizing consideration, preference, and expectation.
• The authors advise caution regarding questions about 'intention' or 'planning' because they often blur the distinction between the desirability and the feasibility of migration.

APA

Carling, J., & Mjelva, M. B. (2021). Survey instruments and survey data on migration aspirations. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/54bef147-b8b5-4e11-83b1-3d9e36e24943/Carling-and-Mjelva-2021-Survey-instruments-and-survey-data-on-migration-aspirations.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Carling, Jørgen, and Mathilde Bålsrud Mjelva. Survey instruments and survey data on migration aspirations. Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2021. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/54bef147-b8b5-4e11-83b1-3d9e36e24943/Carling-and-Mjelva-2021-Survey-instruments-and-survey-data-on-migration-aspirations.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Carling |first1=Jørgen |last2=Mjelva |first2=Mathilde Bålsrud |title=Survey instruments and survey data on migration aspirations |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |date=26 February 2021 |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/54bef147-b8b5-4e11-83b1-3d9e36e24943/Carling-and-Mjelva-2021-Survey-instruments-and-survey-data-on-migration-aspirations.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{carling2021survey, author = {Carling, Jørgen and Mjelva, Mathilde Bålsrud}, title = {{Survey instruments and survey data on migration aspirations}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2021}, month = feb, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/54bef147-b8b5-4e11-83b1-3d9e36e24943/Carling-and-Mjelva-2021-Survey-instruments-and-survey-data-on-migration-aspirations.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }