New special issue of Slovenský národopis / Slovak Ethnology on methodological challenges in transnational family research
The Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences presents the new issue of the journal Slovenský národopis / Slovak Ethnology (74, 2026, No. 2), which focuses thematically on the methodological challenges associated with qualitative research on transnational families. The guest editors were Esra Demirkol Colosio (Çankırı Karatekin University, Turkey), Jelena Predojević-Despić (Institute of Social Sciences, Serbia), and our colleague Martina Wilsch (Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology, Slovak Academy of Sciences). The issue is the result of collaboration within the framework of the COST Action CA21143 – Transnational Family Dynamics in Europe (TraFaDy) and the APVV project VV-MVP-24-0203 – RONARO.
Editorial
- Wilsch, M. – Demirkol Colosio, E. – Predojević-Despić, J.: Introduction: Contemporary Methodological Challenges to Research on Transnational Families presents the conceptual framework of the issue, arguing that methodologies are not neutral instruments but actively co-produce what becomes visible, central, or marginal in transnational family life.
Articles
- Kuti, S. – Mačkinė, I. – Sulaj, A. – Çam, F.: Qualitative Methods in Transnational Family Research: A Literature Review – based on a systematic review, this contribution results from analysing 275 qualitative and mixed-methods studies published between 2018 and 2023, mapping the most commonly used methods as well as less conventional approaches.
- Demirkol Colosio, E. – Predojević-Despić, J. – Wilsch, M.: Navigating the Field: Reflexivity and Positionality in Researching Transnational Families across Serbia, Turkey, and Slovakia – the contribution presents an analysis of three case studies (Serbian and international students, mixed-nationality couples in Turkey, Ukrainian refugee families in Slovakia) reflecting on how researchers’ positionality shifts across different contexts.
- Li, Y.: Positionality as Method: Reflexive Engagement in Studying Transnational Filial Practices in Migration Research – a study of Chinese migrants in Portugal examining the researcher’s dual position as a cultural “insider” and a social “outsider”.
- Végh, J.: The Dynamic Process of Reflexivity: Insider Qualitative Research When Researchers and Participants Experience a Shared Crisis – a longitudinal study of transnational families before, during, and after the pandemic, introducing the Dynamic Reflexivity Framework.
- Dushi, M. – Çaro, E.: Between Data and Dialogue: A Biographical Approach to Researching Transnational Families – a contribution that presents a biographical and ethnographic approach to researching Albanian and Kosovar migrants and their families in Greece, Germany, Switzerland, and the USA.
- Baltadzhiev, V. – Baltadzhieva, R.: Digital Technologies, Disrupted Parenthood, and Ethical Challenges: Methodological Reflections from Research with Ukrainian Refugee Mothers in Bulgaria – a contribution analysing fieldwork on digitally mediated parenthood among Ukrainian mothers displaced after February 2022, with particular attention to the ethics of researching intimate digital interactions.
The issue also includes five reviews of recent publications in the field of transnational families and migration:
- Mesquita da Fonseca, L.: review of Handbook of Transnational Families Around the World (Cienfuegos, Brandhorst, Bryceson, eds.)
- Yilkin, A.: review of Remittances as Social Practices and Agents of Change (Meyer, Ströhle, eds.)
- Çam, F.: review of Forced Migration and Separated Families (Tiilikainen et al., eds.)
- Batić Očovaj, S.: review of Translocal Care across Kosovo’s Borders (Leutloff-Grandits)
- Slavkova, M.: review of Other Borders: History, Mobility and Migration of Rudari Families (Tosi Cambini)
The full issue is freely available HERE.
We wish you pleasant reading!
