Methodology for data collection
The objectives of The lived experiences of migration have been set to collect qualitative information for an in-depth study of the lived experiences of mobility as embedded in specific social contexts, to investigate the dynamic process of mobility and highlight the factors for the successful integration of migrants in host societies. 
The methodological design of the study started from the assumption that migration is embedded in specific national and regional contexts, as well as influenced by pan-European policy debates and regulations.  That is why we selected three groups of countries for conducting the fieldwork: countries traditionally receiving migrants such as Germany and the UK, countries traditionally sending migrants such as Bulgaria and Romania and countries which at present are both receiving and sending migrants such as Italy and Spain. With the view to capture the dynamics of the process of mobility the design of the sample focused on two types of migrants: ‘potential’, that is, people who plan to migrate in the near future (not longer than one year), and ‘actual’, that is, people who are already living in a foreign country (for at least two years). The planned sample consisted of 40 prospective migrants and 120 actual migrants. In addition, we also targeted experts working in private and public recruitment agencies in order to specifically examine their perceptions of migration processes and the role of formal channels of mobility, planning to interview 10 experts per country.
The research instrument was a narrative interview with several main themes to be covered and included prompts. Three guides were constructed to be relevant for each group of interviewees covering some specific as well as overlapping domains of questions. The guides aimed to collect information on the following main aspects: individual characteristics, migration process and integration steps. The interviews were designed to examine the motivation for migration and the process of decision making and preparation, as well as to cover the actual migration steps and finally to track down the process of adaptation, work and life in the new country, the changes in migrant’s identity and expectations for the future. The sampling of the core group of actual migrants was based on a quota design taking into consideration the home and host country of the migrants, gender and qualification level. The interviewed migrants were equally divided between men and women. One third of the migrants were low-skilled and working in the sectors of construction, domestic care and transport; two thirds were highly-skilled in the sectors of finance, ICT and health. We aimed at maximum diversity for the rest of the individual characteristics of the interviewees such as age, family status, housing situation and years of migration experience. Equal gender distribution and two to one ratio of high to low skills among potential migrants was also sought for without fixing other quota criteria. The experts had to be working either in state or private employment agencies at different positions in the organizational hierarchy.
The interview schedules were translated into the local languages, several pilot interviews were conducted to check their feasibility and then discussed by the research teams. The interviews were conducted by members of the research teams who are trained in qualitative methodology. We were fully aware that an interview is a social interaction and its success largely depends on the attention and respect that the interviewers-researchers invest in the relationship. Our time and financial resources placed some limitation on the fieldwork in the countries of reception. Still the well thought-of research design and thorough preparation allowed to follow the sampling and interview design and collect a wealth of information about the life strategies, experiences and plans of European migrants. 
Much attention was devoted to the ethics of our research project and each team ensured an ethical approval from a relevant ethics body before the start of the fieldwork. All interviewees were informed about the project, its aims, methods for analysis and presentation of results and then asked to sign a consent form. All researchers took care to protect the anonymity of their interviewees in the stages of analysis and dissemination of results.