Immigration Case Study Essay

The purpose of this qualitative, multiple-case study was to explore the lived experiences of China-born immigrants as they coped with (a) the devaluation of their work credentials, (b) job discrimination and employment disparities, and (c) the initiation of entrepreneurial activity as a path to upward economic and social mobility in the GTA. Twenty-one immigrants born in the PRC were selected to participate in open-ended, in-depth, semistructured interviews (Doody & Noonan, 2013). The sample was purposefully selected from immigrant community centers, Chinese immigrant and professional associations, family and social work agencies, social media, online networking, personal contacts, and visits to firms owned by China-born immigrants. The exact number of participants was determined by the point of data saturation (Suri, 2011). Interviews were conducted primarily in Putonghua (Mandarin) or Cantonese, and were translated into English by professional translators (Katz et al., 2014). In addition, direct observations of successful enterprises were conducted where possible (Doody & Noonan, 2013; Gordon, Nichter, & Henriksen, 2013). Data triangulation was accomplished by collecting data from PRC immigrants at different stages of the job-market …show more content…
Twenty-one individuals were interviewed for the study, including 13 men and 8 women. The educational levels ranged from high school diplomas to PhD degrees. One individual held a PhD in environmental economics, and another held a PhD in molecular genetics. Fields of study included engineering, biochemistry, management, and education. Fourteen participants (two thirds) had obtained a university degree before immigrating to Canada. Three male and three female participants divorced between 1 to 3 years after arriving in Canada. Nine participants were self-employed, and one additional participant was self-employed until he divorced. Table 1 shows the demographic distributions of the