New database to make refugee research more accessible

A newly developed open-source database is levelling the playing field when it comes to accessing research on forced migration.

When it comes to knowledge sharing in academia, the uncomfortable reality is that not everyone has equal access to information. The commodification of knowledge and individualistic, metrics-driven approaches to academic publication keeps most papers hidden behind paywalls.

This is a big problem when it comes to research with a social justice mission, such as the complex and layered field of forced migration and refugee studies.

To help combat this, the Refugee Education Special Interest Group (RESIG) along with the Melbourne Social Equity Institute, developed the Australian Research on Refugee Integration Database (ARRID) – an open-source database facilitating access for academics, students, refugee-background communities, policymakers, and practitioners to research refugee integration in Australia.

‘We wanted to address the moral failure of making publicly-funded knowledge inaccessible,’ said John Tran, ARRID co-developer and Student Equity Project Officer at the UTS Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion.

‘When valuable knowledge is hidden behind a paywall, its full potential for impact is diminished.

‘For example, the insights and learnings from forced migration research do not translate well or easily into much-needed shifts in policy and practice, largely because people don’t have access to, or know what information is out there.’

‘Similarly, it creates a scenario where many of the people who are participants, co-researchers or potential beneficiaries of the research are unable to gain access to the knowledge written about them,’ he said.

While the ARRID hasn’t reversed the paywall problem, it does allow users to see – in an easy to understand and simplified way – how much research or writing has been done in the field of forced migration and refugee studies.

The tools developed by RESIG – including the ARRID and an open access annotated bibliography – allows users to see the titles, categories, references and year of publication of research papers.

They hope that by making this information available, some of the inequitable informational barriers in academia can be addressed.

‘Our idea to create these resources came from a desire to signal solidarity, to bridge academic and ‘ordinary’ worlds, and to create public good,’ John said.

View the Australian Research on Refugee Integration Database.