Researching Ageing and Later Life : The Practice of Social Gerontology

by Jamieson, Anne

• ISBN13: 9780335208203
• ISBN10: 0335208207
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-09-01
• Publisher: Open University Press

Summary

The changing demographic profiles of modern societies have led to a growing interest in understanding ageing and later life among those working within the social sciences and humanities. This edited volume addresses the methodological challenges entailed in studying the process of ageing and life course changes, as well as the experience of being old. The book focuses on the theory and practice of doing research, using a wide range of examples and case studies. The contributors, who are prominent researchers in the field, review the range of practices in the use of different methodologies and give in-depth examples, based on their own research experience. The book covers a variety of disciplines and methodologies, both quantitative and qualitative, and a diversity of sources, including fiction, photographs, as well as the traditional social science sources. Researching Ageing and Later Life will be essential reading for those wishing for an insight into the realities of doing research in this area.

Author Biography

Anne Jamieson is Senior Lecturer in Gerontology at Birkbeck College, University of London, and Course Director for the programmes in gerontology, including an MSc in Life Course Development. She has published in the areas of comparative aspects of health and social policies, evaluation studies, and adult education.

Christina Victor is Professor of Social Gerontology at St. George's Hospital Medical School, University of London where she is responsible for the development of postgraduate courses and Course director for two MSc Courses (Health Sciences and Public Health). She has published widely in the social and health aspects of ageing.

Table of Contents

List of figures, tables and boxes	vii
Notes on contributors	ix
Introduction	1	(4)
Anne Jamieson
Christina Victor
Part I The who, what and how of social gerontology	5	(28)
Theory and practice in social gerontology	7	(14)
Anne Jamieson
Strategies and methods in researching ageing and later life	21	(12)
Anne Jamieson
Part II Using existing sources	33	(64)
Using documentary material: researching the past	35	(16)
Andrew Blaikie
Using existing research and statistical data: secondary data analysis	51	(15)
Christina Victor
Using the Mass-Observation Archive	66	(14)
Dorothy Sheridan
Using `cultural products' in researching images of ageing	80	(17)
Mike Hepworth
Part III Creating new data	97	(98)
Doing longitudinal research	99	(18)
Michael Wadsworth
Doing life history research	117	(18)
Joanna Bornat
Doing case study research in psychology	135	(20)
Peter Coleman
Doing diary-based research	155	(20)
Bill Bytheway
Julia Johnson
Doing evaluation of health and social care interventions	175	(20)
Ann Netten
Part IV The roles and responsibilities of the researcher	195	(65)
Researching ageing in different cultures	197	(14)
Margaret Boneham
Ethical issues in researching later life	211	(15)
Mary Gilhooly
The role of older people in social research	226	(19)
Sheila Peace
The use of gerontological research in policy and practice	245	(15)
Mike Nolan
Jo Cooke
Appendix Web resources	260	(4)
Index	264