Preface:

This synthetic overview is based on commissioned literature reviews from six disciplines: demography, urban studies, criminology, economics, sociology, and social psychology, as well as an omnibus review of French language research in Canada. The objective is to identify areas of research consensus, strengths and weaknesses in the disciplinary literature, and important gaps in knowledge dealing with immigrant integration within the various policy domains described below.

The reviews are not uniform in format and coverage. Several important disciplines have not been included (see below) and thus there are significant gaps in the coverage. The reviews also differ in length and internal structure. Neither those reviews nor this synthesis is the final word on social scientific knowledge dealing with immigrant integration in Canada. But they can serve as an important first step.

This synthesis is meant to be read primarily as a companion piece to the seven reviews, but also as a stand alone work. However, there will be very few references cited here. First, I cannot cite works which I have not read, but which have been cited in the seven reviews. Many are outside my disciplinary expertise, which is sociology. Second, my references to the actual review articles are all indirect, often referring not to one page but to a more general theme, all of which are accessible easily enough in the original companion reviews.

This overview, like the reviews themselves, is a work in progress. As more disciplines are reviewed, and as more studies are completed, conclusions and emphases may be modified.

The first main section, after an Introduction, is a summary of the six disciplinary reviews. The next section applies the relevant findings of the reviews to the six policy domains identified by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The final section lists lacunae and emerging research themes. Some overlap among these three sections has been unavoidable.

I make no effort to assess the quality of the various reviews. Throughout this synthesis I will on occasion offer some personal reflections concerning emerging research issues, or interpretations of the research evidence.