A graduate student from Latvia is seeking Latvians in America interested in helping her with research on ethnic identity.

Elīna Ivanova, who is studying for a master’s degree in geography at the University of Latvia, is looking into how Latvians form and maintain their national identity.

The research, she told Latvians Online in an e-mail, is tied to geography because she is examining the migration process. Ivanova is looking at aspects such as the distribution of Latvian communities and how both the host country and the homeland affect the development and maintenance of identity.

Ivanova has set up an online survey and is asking Latvians in the United States to complete it by April 20. She wants responses from both recent immigrants and from the exile community—even from those individuals who are in the second or third generations and might no longer speak Latvian.

The survey is available in Latvian and in English.