The use of big data in migration management

In this study, the use of big data in migration management is analyzed with descriptive content analysis method using the projects in Data Innovation Directory of International Organization for Migration (IOM), one of the important intergovernmental agencies in migration management. First of all, the history and literature of migration management were evaluated, then the definition, scope, ethical debates and use of big data in the field of migration were analyzed. Projects in the Data Innovation Directory were classified according to the data sources they used (phone call records, social media, world observation data and other sources); the methods of obtaining the data, the institutions from which the data were obtained, the migration process that the data focused on, and the theoretical contexts of the projects were evaluated. These projects, as included in the definition of migration management, stand out as studies that all stakeholders (immigrants, states, companies, etc.) will benefit from the process and that protection and control of migrants emerge as important themes. It has been found that projects show great diversity in terms of data sources and source institutions, innovative data sources are used together with other data sources, data sources have a great extent in terms of the countries they covered, projects are clustered around attitudes toward migrants, understanding and forecasting migration, integration, protection, control and sampling.