The critique of methodological nationalism in the social sciences has posed a theoretical and methodological challenge to qualitative social research. It has forced researchers to reflect on the possibilities and limitations of applying qualitative research methods in their research on transnational social phenomena. We underline the need to examine the influence of the biographical experiences of the researcher on the research process in transnational research settings. We argue that by inducing biographical self-reflection during the research process, it is possible to work out the possible biographical entanglements with the research topic and to reflect their influence on the further development of the research process. In consequence, it is possible to tackle methodologically the “invisible” role of the researcher in the narrative construction of transnational social fields and to show how transnational knowledge production is an intersubjective, relational activity.

The transnational approach has broadened the theoretical understanding of complex migration processes and challenged traditional migration research approaches. Researchers are constantly required to adapt and refocus their work in accordance with changing social realities. This poses challenges to methodologies and methods used in qualitative research, and forces researchers to reflect on the possibilities and limitations of applying these methods in transnational research contexts. In the field of biographical research, the transnational perspective requires us to reconsider previously developed premises of biographical research and to reflect on current research practice. In this paper we introduce 'biographical reflexivity' as a theoretical and methodological tool to deal with the trap posed by methodological nationalism.

Dieses Buch knüpft an Intersektionalitäts- und Transnationalitätsansätze an und untersucht die Konstitution von Migrationsprozessen sowie die Konstruktionen von Migrantinsein. Am Beispiel der Biographien von scheinbar privilegierten, »unsichtbaren« Migrantinnen finnischer Herkunft zeigt die biographieanalytische Studie, wie Migrationsprojekte und Subjektkonstruktionen mit biographischen Transformationsprozessen verwoben sind und wie diese zur Konstitution eines transnationalen Handlungs- und Zugehörigkeitsraums führen können. Die Studie leistet einen Beitrag zu den Debatten über transnationale Biographien sowie vergeschlechtlichte Migrationsprozesse und dient darüber hinaus als exemplarische Einführung in die biographische Migrationsforschung.

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