2 results
5 - The Influence of Interviewers’ Ethnic Background in a Survey Among Surinamese in the Netherlands
- Edited by Joan Font, Mónica Méndez
-
- Book:
- Surveying Ethnic Minorities and Immigrant Populations
- Published by:
- Amsterdam University Press
- Published online:
- 22 December 2020
- Print publication:
- 18 April 2013, pp 111-130
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
Introduction
This chapter examines whether there are different results due to the ethnic background of the interviewer in a survey on ethnicity among second-generation Surinamese carried out in Amsterdam.
The literature on interviewer effects is part of a larger body of work on response effects. Section 5.2 first reviews response effects in general and then looks at research on the influence of the ethnic background of the interviewer in survey research (in the Anglo-Saxon literature simplified to race of interviewer effect). Attention is given to the respondents, the subject matter of the questions, methods and explanations for this phenomenon. Section 5.3 describes the research design of the survey of 300 secondgeneration Surinamese. Section 5.4 looks at the outcomes of this study using first a method based on individual scores and then multi-level analysis. Finally, section 5.5, the conclusion, discusses the relevance of the outcomes in terms of the theories that are found in the literature.
Existing research on response effects and race of interviewer effects
Response effects
Van der Zouwen (1989: 9) defines ‘response effects’ as those particular effects on the response that are caused by variables other than the ones which the researcher wants to measure with the stated question. Dijkstra & Van der Zouwen (1982) refer to four types of variables that can cause response effects. First, they distinguish variables that are related to the characteristics of the interviewer, which can include role dependent and role independent characteristics. Role dependent characteristics are, for example, motivation and skilfulness in interviewing in the intended manner. Role independent characteristics include, among others, ethnic background, sex, age and other personal characteristics of the interviewer, but in addition, they also include the interviewer's own expectations and opinions regarding the subject matter of the survey and respondents’ answers.
The second type of variables relates to characteristics of the respondents. These include role dependent characteristics, such as the motivation to answer honestly, and role independent ones, for example, ethnic background, sex and age, but also psychological variables such as the tendency to answer in a socially desirable way.
Third are variables related to the interview situation, like the extent of anonymity, the place and time of the interview, and also whether third persons are present, in front of whom the respondent may not feel free to say what he or she wants or may be distracted.
4 - Group-related or Host State-Related? Understanding the Historical Development of Surinamese Organisations in Amsterdam, 1965-2000
- Edited by Ulbe Bosma
-
- Book:
- Post-colonial Immigrants and Identity Formations in the Netherlands
- Published by:
- Amsterdam University Press
- Published online:
- 02 February 2021
- Print publication:
- 15 April 2013, pp 77-98
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
Introduction
As is typical of immigrant communities all over the world, Surinamese migrants to the Netherlands have formed a considerable number of associations following the time of their arrival (Rex, Joly & Wilpers1987; Jenkins 1988; Moya 2005; Lucassen, Feldman & Oltmer 2006). In this chapter we look at the factors that may explain the development of the Surinamese organising process by focusing on the policy of Amsterdam authorities and on factors related to the group itself. This chapter shows that Dutch policymakers at first reacted encouragingly, as separate welfare institutions for the just-arrived Surinamese fitted into the existing categorical policy line – which was both a result of the pillarised welfare system that existed in the Netherlands and an ad hoc result of the lack of policies concerning the integration of immigrants. But with the development of integration policies from 1983 onwards, these views changed and consequently support diminished for the Surinamese associations that already existed. More recently, resentment developed towards the role that immigrant associations might play, and they were – correctly or not – accused of functioning as fortresses where immigrants could hide from Dutch society (Penninx & Van Heelsum 2004). The attitudes of policymakers have influenced the organisations considerably. In this chapter we analyse the development of Surinamese immigrant organisations in Amsterdam between 1965 and 2000, as well as study the factors that influenced the rate at which these organisations were founded.
As we have explained elsewhere (Vermeulen 2006; Van Heelsum 2004: 12), the collective actions of immigrants are often explained by referring either to the characteristics of the immigrant population (Breton 1964; Jones-Correa 1998: 143; Moya 2005) or to the influence of the country of settlement (Olzak 1983; Kasinitz 1992; Waldinger 1996; Morawska 1996; Lucassen 2003; Koopmans, Statham, Giugni & Passy 2005). From our point of view, the two interact and both should be taken into consideration. We therefore deal with the question of how a combination of these grouprelated factors (immigrant model) and host state-related factors (opportunity model) may explain the building of an organisational field among the immigrant group that was largest in the Dutch capital during the period studied.
Firstly, we give a description of Surinamese migration to Amsterdam, outlining the history of the main organisations this group established and distinguishing between Afro-Surinamese and Indo-Surinamese organisations.
![](/core/cambridge-core/public/images/lazy-loader.gif)