3. London-relevance
The purpose of RAL is to identify research that is relevant to policy-makers working on London issues, service providers working in London and researchers working on refugee and asylum issues within a London context. We define London as consisting of thirty-three boroughs which include all inner- and outer-London boroughs. Research conducted in Harmondsworth Detention Centre for example, is included because it is based in the London borough of Hillingdon. Research conducted in Tisley House Detention Centre on the other hand, despite its proximity to Gatwick, London’s second airport, is not included because it is based in Sussex.
Where all of the research or a significant proportion of the research has been carried out in London then it has been included. For example, if all of the informants or a significant number of the informants were based in London, then the research has been included. Often, research will compare the situation in a London borough with a city or region outside the capital, and these yield valuable findings and conclusions because London issues are often contextualised within a national framework.
If research has been carried out exclusively in other localities, e.g. Sheffield or Scotland, then it has not been included. Where the London-relevance is unclear, we have written to authors to check how many of their informants were based in London. The content of the summaries emphasise aspects of the methodology, key findings and conclusions/recommendations that are particularly relevant to London.
4. Refugee/asylum content
Most of the articles/reports included in the database have a clear refugee/asylum content. In some cases refugees and asylum seekers are subsumed within ‘new immigrants’, ‘immigrants’ or ‘BME communities’. In these instances it has been necessary to look at the weight that the report gives to refugees and asylum seekers and what proportion of the research subjects were refugees or asylum seekers to ascertain the relevance of the research.
Additionally, some articles/reports focus on particular ethnic or national groups, such as Somalis, Kurds or Vietnamese. In cases where these groups have a historically high refugee population or have a (proportionally) large number of refugees/asylum seekers then the report has been included, unless the article/report is specifically about non-asylum migration within this ethnic or national group.
Where the refugee/asylum content is unclear, we have written to authors to check how many of their informants were refugees or asylum seekers.
The content of the summaries emphasise aspects of the methodology, key findings and conclusions/recommendations that are particularly relevant to refugees and asylum seekers.