General Theory in the Study of Migration: Current Needs and Difficulties

The need for a more comprehensive, general theoretical approach to the study of migration is widely recognized by sociologists and other behavioral scientists. At present, no major synthesizing effort, directly relevant to the concerns of sociologists, exists. Against a background of recent trends and lines of inquiry in migration research, drawn from an extensive review of the current literature, probable reasons are suggested for this "lag" in general theory-building. In addition to a number of misconceptions about the nature of migration, which continue to prevail, and difficulties stemming from the sources of migration data, which reinforce those misconceptions, the study of migration has suffered from a lack of concern on the part of our leading sociological theorists.