The role of information in the migration experience of young Polish women in the UK

Since the expansion of the European Union in 2004 to include Poland as a member, there has been a substantial increase in the number of migrants moving from Poland to the UK, and there are now almost one million Poles living in the UK. These migrants are generally young and highly educated, and are moving to the UK for reasons of economic improvement and self-fulfilment. Furthermore, many are women migrating independently, which is an emerging trend in migration in general. While the information behaviour of migrants has been studied, this work has tended to focus on certain populations, such as refugees. Less research has been done to examine the information behaviour of economic migrants, particularly within an EU context, which becomes more timely with the UK’s decision to leave the EU. This thesis therefore investigates the role of information in the migration experience of young Polish women in the UK. This study takes an interpretivist, constructionist perspective, with a broadly ethnographic approach to data collection and analysis. An exploratory study was undertaken to contextualise the research and refine the methodology, involving expert interviews, pilot interviews with Polish women, and analysis of a previous study of recent Polish migration to the UK. In the main study, twenty-one participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview technique and mental mapping. Data was analysed thematically. The study provides insights into the information behaviour and experience of young Polish women migrating to the UK. It contextualises these findings against previous research within migration in the field of information science, and presents a conceptual model of the underlying factors shaping the relationship between migration and information behaviour. It also contributes to the use of visual methods in information behaviour research, and delivers practical recommendations for migrational individuals and those working with them.