BASES CONCEPTUALES

In order to fulfil all the aims of this thesis suitable sources needed to be selected for analysis. Before investigating potential and extant data sets, the use of primary and secondary source material and the complementarity of qualitative and quantitative analyses should be investigated.

Each source will be studied from a number of angles, e.g. why it was compiled and by whom; its scope and limits; whether it aids in the description of mobility patterns or helps explain how they were created; and if it has been used in other academic studies of mobility. Once the potential sources have been reviewed in this manner an appraisal of all the available data sets extant for Angus can be made. A selection of the most suitable, appropriate and beneficial sources was made in order to create a picture of mobility in Angus between 1780 and 1830. The methods to be used to do this also warrant discussion.

2 .1 INTRODUCTION

Usage of Primary and Secondary Source Material

In order to describe and explain the nature, level and extent of mobility in Angus in the period cl780 to c l830 a range of sources of information are to be used to avoid biased results or ambiguities which may be concealed in the data. Thus a number of sources covering as many social strata as possible at all scales (i.e. from the micro-scale of a single village to the macro-scale of the whole county of Angus) will be required so that a general picture of the

patterns and processes of mobility can be gleaned, before particular aspects of movement within the area are brought into focus.

There are three types of data sources available :

(a) primary - sources from which mobility can be measured. Direct information about the movements of people within, into and out of the county of Angus. For example, information on the numbers involved, distances moved, identification of directional flows.

(b) secondary - movements which can only be inferred from the source e.g. marriage registers. Mobility is assumed but cannot be confirmed. Levels and patterns of movements can, nevertheless, be reconstructed within limits.

(c) supplementary - sources with indirect information connected with mobility. For example, sources which aid the explanation of the nature of migration in Angus by providing information on why people moved to or from certain areas. Although these sources do not yield quantitative data on numbers of people moving they do impart useful knowledge on concomitant and potentially influential economic, demographic, social, cultural, industrial, agricultural and structural changes and developments. Thus both direct and indirect sources will be of use in this study, the former providing much of the descriptive information whereas the latter will be used more in the explanation of mobility in Angus.

Limitations of Scottish historical data

A major limitation is that information on mobility must be derived from historical sources which were compiled for other reasons. Few checks were

made on internal movements in Scotland during the period 1780-1830 thus mobility research is dependent on records which were not kept for such a purpose. These records are often of non-repetitive moves and relate to one point in a migrant’s life such as apprenticeship (noted by trade guilds as a way of controlling numbers of craftsmen) which do not take into account previous moves. Thus data which do provide information may be regarded as evidence of only part of the total pattern of migration. Furthermore some groups in society, such as females and children, may be invisible in mobility records. Thus the representativeness of the historical sources must also be considered before being selected for use in this study.

The geographical coverage of Scottish sources is incomplete for the historical period. Royal burghs and towns are more likely to possess relevant extant sources due to the existence of burgh councils, trade guilds, sheriff courts and toll-booths, which created the need for records of some sort.

Reliability of records has to be queried, especially those connected with ecclesiastical events. During the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries several groups split from the main body of the Established Church forming new c h u r c h e s . 5 8 Thus the records of the Established Church do not

represent the entire community and before they can be used a consideration of the level of dissenters ought to be carried out. Comprehensiveness and potential deficiencies in the sources must thus be taken into account before choosing data sets for this historical period.

Finally, assumptions made today regarding distances, attractions of 58 Brown (1988).

destinations and perceptions of environments may totally conflict with those of the period 1780-1830. Therefore contemporaneous works must be consulted in order to corroborate hypotheses form ulated and avoid inappropriate statements.

Scottish historical data sources contain several limits for any study of geographical mobility. These include their imbalanced coverage, the representation of a partial society, the need to extract mobility information, the existence of incomplete records and the lack of compulsory registration pre-1855. Nevertheless by using a variety of sources it should be possible to piece together a general picture of geographical mobility and attempt to explain it.

Complementarity of Qualitative and Quantitative Analyses

Qualitative data complement quantitative analysis as the former may throw light on facets of mobility not immediately revealed by looking at sets of figures. As Guelke (1982, p. 67) says :

The use of statistical procedures is not a substitute for the critical evaluation of source materials.

For example, Whyte and Whyte (1986) in their study of apprenticeship mobility to Aberdeen and Inverness tested distance from those towns as a control on apprentice numbers. To explain deviations from the linear regression model they used qualitative data such as the economic structures of source points. Thus both types of analysis can be used to complement each other usefully, and produce a better overall explanation of results found. As Clark (1979) notes, many sources offer "shards" of information connected with physical mobility. Therefore material which may be

incomplete or lacking in detail can still be used in qualitative analysis and need not be totally discarded.

Selection of Sources

It is not sufficient to pick sources simply because they relate to the locality. Bias and misrepresentation must be assessed as well as evaluating the level of mobility information which can be extracted. There are three criteria which a source should possess before it can be justifiably selected for use in this study :

(i) The source should indicate movement between points and/or areas, or imply that movement has taken place or show the effects of the migration process i.e. the results of movement. Migration represents a redistribution of people and needs a spatial context i.e. a move from one location to another. Thus data must indicate a movement over time between points or areas.

(ii) The temporal context must be identified within the data sources. Firstly, as the study relates to the period cl780 to cl830, the sources chosen must have been collected and compiled during this time-span of fifty years or alternatively in the years immediately preceding or following. Ideally a source which produced reliable figures of movers in a population annually throughout the specified period would be selected for analysis as it would allow levels of mobility to be calculated accurately and changes in movement to be charted. For the pre-1851 era the only official source is the census which does not offer much information on mobility. Thus it will be necessary to select a variety of sources which individually do not provide

data on movers throughout the period, but collectively can be used to study mobility in Angus. A single listing for one settlement or parish would be unusable as it cannot be compared with anything else and may be totally unrepresentative of general society.

(iii) Obviously the records selected for analysis must also refer to the area of study i.e. the county of Angus. A combination of general analyses of mobility levels and patterns is envisaged using the best and most widespread of sources, complemented by a number of case studies of smaller areas.