This research report consists of three volumes. The main findings of the study are presented in Volume 1, which is divided into eight chapters. Following this Introduction, Chapter 2 describes the five components of the study and the research methods used for each of them. Chapter 3 highlights the background characteristics of the three types of respondents interviewed in the study: refugees, service providers, and community residents. The next chapter addresses the social and demographic profiles of the five target communities (Lethbridge, Red Deer, Medicine Hat, Grande Prairie, and Fort McMurray), plus Edmonton and Calgary. Chapter 5 deals with the central question in this study, that is, the geographic mobility of refugees. Next, Chapter 6 discusses the settlement services provided to refugees in the host communities, while Chapter 7 examines the settlement experiences of the refugees interviewed in this study. Finally, Chapter 8 examines a range of policy issues involved in the settlement of refugees and offers a series of policy recommendations based on the results of this study.
Volume 2 consists of three appendices which provide supplementary findings concerning the settlement experiences of refugees in Alberta. Appendix I is divided into two parts. The first part is a summary of the literature on refugee settlement in Canada, while the second part provides an annotated bibliography, both parts covering the period 1980-1998. Appendix II contains an integrated summary of interviews with service providers, while Appendix III lists the refugees’ verbatim comments in response to question number 114 in the Adult Questionnaire ("Is there anything else about your refugee experience, before or after coming to Canada, that you want to talk about?").
The final volume, Volume 3, is a technical report comprised of three parts. Taken together, the three parts contain all the data collection instruments used in the study, the codebooks used in connection with the refugee questionnaires and with the Public Opinion Survey, the Interviewers’ Handbook, and, finally, a list of the Service Provider Organizations consulted in the study.