Motivation
Boston has become a much more racially and ethnically diverse place over the past decades. In 2021, more than 30% of Boston's population is foreign-born.
High social interactions and access to various information channels are important for immigrants to be more connected with the national system. However, little is known about why and how Boston’s immigrant communities to access, learn and share information. This project aims to understand the information needs of the immigrant community and what it means for the City of Boston.
The research aimed to understand:
- Who needs the information in what situation
- Why immigrant information matters
- How the current information connection works
- The gap between needs and supports
- The best practice to provide a better information communication experience
Desk Research
Information Connection Explained
In this research, I used the term "information connection" to indicate everyday information behaviours and activities to information satisfy information needs throughout the settlement process.
Who: Value and characteristics of target audience
Haitian creole (1.8%) and Vietnamese (1.2%) are the third and fourth most spoken foreign languages among Boston residents*.
* Among all Boston residents aged older than five years old, 112,603 residents (17.3%) speak a language other than English at home and self-identify as speaking English less than very well.
Data source: 2015-2019 American Community Survey, Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS), BPDA Research Division Analysis
71% of Vietnamese and 42% of Haitians foreign-born adult populations in Boston lack a high school diploma, English proficiency, or both.
Data source: Imagine All the People: Vietnamese BPDA (2016), Imagine All the People: Haitians BPDA (2016)
Aged 45 or over in the foreign-born population of the two immigrant communities is larger than that of other groups.
Data source: A Prosperous Boston for All: Haitians, BPDA (2020), A Prosperous Boston for All: Vietnamese, BPDA (2020)
Why: Motivation & Needs
"Without information and the satisfaction of information needs, regardless of the channel used to satisfy them, full absorption cannot be achieved because the satisfaction of information needs is a basic element of life." (Shoham, S. & Strauss, S.K. , 2008)
The information needs and their satisfaction are basic human needs. Furthermore, the information needs satisfaction is also essential to the full absorption process.
To immigrant communities, it’s about “building confidence and a wish to stay. ” (Adler, S., 1977)
Referring to Shoham, S. & Strauss, S.K. (2008), I defined four key values of immigrant research as follows:
- COMPETENCE: Put down roots in the new home
- RELATEDNESS: Regain social network and sense of belonging
- AUTONOMY: Experience integration and freedom
- SELF-IDENTIFICATION: Cultivate a sense of new identity
What: Type of information
I reviewed previous research to identify the types of information that are particularly important to immigrant communities.
Division of recent/loger-established immigrant was adopted from Caidi and Allard(2005).
Source: Khoir, S., Du, J.T. &Koronios, A. (2015). Everyday information behaviourof Asian immigrants in South Australia: A mixed-methods exploration.
By grouping the types of information, I defined 8 information categories and used the categories to communicate the types of information with community partners/members.
- Settlement
- Cultural Heritage
- Legal Issues & Rights
- Entertainment
- Financial Literacy
- Career Development
- Education
- Social Networking
How: Information ground & Communication channels
(Work in Progress)
Preliminary Survey
I conducted online written surveys with 4 community partners speaking Haitians and Vietnamese and 3 city officials.
Results
The preliminary survey indicated that the cultural heritage is the keyword of their works, among others.
When asked to choose top 3 keywords to describe their works for the immigrant community, four out of seven respondents chose cultural heritage as one of their keywords, followed by social networking and youth.
Among the all immigrant community members they are serving, both community partners and city officials identified middle-aged immigrants and their families are the main audiences of their efforts. Although they have been here in Boston for a long time, they still feel more comfortable speaking in their native language.
Cultural heritage and legal issues & rights are the information most actively shared. The information that community partners and city officials most share with the main immigrant audience group was cultural heritage and legal issues/rights information, followed by education career development.
Cultural heritage and education are also the information that the immigrant community members most frequently look for/ask for help with.
The City of Boston is the primary information source both for community partners and city officials. Also, community partners with ethnic and local associations were important information sources.
Both respondent groups said Email and Facebook are the most active channels to communicate with community members.
Expert Interviews
I conducted semi-structured Interviews with community partners. The interviews were conducted remotely (video/email), and interview questionnaires were distributed before the interviews.
(In progress - To be updated in Aug 2021)
Community Survey
(In progress - To be updated in Aug 2021)
