Table 1 Overview of measurement approaches
From: Measuring migration 2.0: a review of digital data sources
# | Data source | Provider | Main approach to inferring migration stocks or flows | Example of applications to migration studies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Mobile phones [CDR; GPS; Android location history] | Private sector companies | Tracks location of individuals via phone signals through cell phone towers or by storing GPS location through the smartphone operating system | Displacement following disasters; internal mobility at local level |
2 | Social media [e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Skype, LinkedIn] | Private sector companies | Measure changes in users' self-reported location in their profiles or posts and the location of IP addresses from where users log into their accounts | Estimating international migration stocks and flows; Estimating changes in friendship networks, monitoring migration-related communication in social media groups |
3 | Online search data [Google, Bing] | Private sector companies | Measuring popularity of migration-relevant search terms online | Forecasting potential bilateral migration flows |
4 | IP addresses [email logins] | Private sector companies | Track locations from which users access their email account | Estimating international migration flows |
5 | Bibliographic data | Companies; Academic bodies | Tracking changes in the publicly available institutional affiliation of professionals (i.e. academics) | Measuring international migration of academics |
6 | Remote sensing [satellite and drone images] | Government; private sector companies | Measuring changes in physical features (rooftops, settlements, light emission at night) in defined locations on maps recorded via satellite or drone imagery | Measuring rapid changes in sizes of settlements and refugee camps; border management; targeting humanitarian assistance |
7 | Air passenger data | Private sector companies | Measuring discrepancies in the volume between flight arrivals and returns as a proxy for immigration | Estimating international migration flows |
8 | Online news platforms | Private sector companies; research institutes | Compiling information on mentions of (past or potential) migration events in news media | Estimating internal displacement; estimating forced migration, estimating migrant fatalities |