DOING RESEARCH ON THE AGED
M.C. Sengstock – SOC 5760
Special Problems of Studying Older Adults
Special Techniques for Studying Older Adults
(Review from Chapter 1 of Textbook)
WHY OLDER ADULTS ARE
DIFFICULT TO STUDY
• Any Subgroup of Population Is Particularly
Difficult to Study
• Inappropriateness of Normal Research
Techniques:
Representative Sample of Population
– Every 1,000th Phone Number or Name in List
– Gives Picture of TOTAL Population
– Inadequate Sample of Sub-Groups:
• Elderly – African-Americans – Teenagers – Etc.
TRADITIONAL SAMPLING
& THE ELDERLY
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Traditional Sample of 1,000 in Population
Would Yield Approximately 130 Elderly
What Generalizations Can Be Made?
What Is Needed to Make Generalizations?
Need Special Sampling Techniques
MAIN PROBLEM
STUDYING ELDERLY
• Interpreting “Change”:
– Which Changes Result from Growing Older?
– Which Are Characteristic of a Specific Category
(“Cohort”) of Elderly?
– EX 1: Elderly Distrust Banks
– All Elderly? Or Those from Depression Period?
– EX 2: Don’t Understand “Modern” Ways
– All Elderly? Or Those Who Never Learned Them?
STUDYING “CHANGE”
• Most Questions We Ask About Aging:
• Focus Is on CHANGE: How Do People Change
As They Grow Older?
• Interpreting Changes in a Specific Study:
– Characteristic of ALL Individuals As They Age?
– Or Only Characteristic of THIS COHORT of Elderly
Who Are Aging RIGHT NOW?
– EX: Depression Elderly DISTRUST Banks …
– BUT 21st Century 70 Yr Olds TRUST Banks!
INTERPRETING
DATA ON THE AGED
• How Do You Know if the Changes You See Are
Characteristic of ALL Aged Persons – or Only
This Particular Cohort of Aged?
• How Is Being 80 Different From Being 50?
• Irrespective of Whether You Are 80 in
–
1970
–
1990
– 2010?
• Will 80 Yr Olds Be Like This in 2040?
SUMMARY OF
RESEARCH PROBLEMS
• Difficulty of Studying a Category Which
Represents a Small Proportion of Population
• Difficulty of Studying CHANGE in a SINGLE
POINT IN TIME
• Difficulty of Distinguishing Between Effects:
COHORT vs. AGE
2 MODELS OF AGING
• COMPETENCE MODEL: Individual’s Ability to
Deal With Problems of Life
– Why Do Some People Manage Better than Others?
• ENVIRONMENT PRESS Model: Impact of
Environment on an Individual
– How Do the Experiences One Has Had Impact on
Their Ability to Manage Stress?
– Impact of Social & Economic Stresses on Coping
• EX: Minority Status; Low Income; Historical Events
REQUIREMENTS FOR
AGING RESEARCH
• Simply Looking at an Older Population vs. a
Younger Population Is Insufficient
• Need to Be Able to Separate Out The Different
Effects:
AGING PROCESS – COHORT IMPACTS
BALTIMORE LONGITUDINAL
STUDIES OF AGING
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Landmark Studies
Conducted in 1950s & 1960s
Contributed Significantly to Study of Aging
Mainly Through Suggesting New
Methodologies
3 RESEARCH DESIGNS
• Longitudinal Research
• Cross-Sectional Research
• Sequential Research
LONGITUDINAL DESIGNS:
METHOD & ASSETS
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Study Same People – “PANEL” – Over Time
Eliminates (Controls for) Cohort Effects
Effective in Comparing Age & Cohort Effects
Permits Inference About Changes Related to
Aging
LONGITUDINAL DESIGNS:
PROBLEMS
• Serious Methodological Difficulties:
– Difficult to Retain Entire Sample
– People Get Sick & Quit or Die
– Get Tired of Being Interviewed Numerous Times
• Most Difficult to Do
• Very Expensive
CROSS-SECTIONAL DESIGNS:
METHOD & ASSETS
• Studies a Number of Subjects of Different
Ages on the Same Characteristics
• Allows Researchers to Compare Subjects of
Different Ages
• How Are “Older” People Different from
“Younger” Ones?
CROSS-SECTIONAL DESIGNS:
PROBLEMS
• Sorting Out Cohort Effects Remains
• Q Remains: Are Some Subjects “Unusual”
Members of their Cohorts?
• How to Determine Whether Observed
Changes Are Due to Age Itself – Or Cohort
SEQUENTIAL DESIGNS:
METHOD & ASSETS
• Modification of the Longitudinal Design
• Does NOT Interview a PANEL
• Interviews DIFFERENT Members of the Same
Cohort at Different Points in Time
• Allows Researchers to Analyze Relative
Influence of AGE vs. COHORT
• Avoids Problems of Retaining Same Subjects
Over Extended Period of Time
SEQUENTIAL DESIGNS:
PROBLEMS
• Difficult & Time-Consuming to Conduct
• Though Not As Difficult As Longitudinal
SUMMARY OF RESEARCH TYPES
• LONGITUDINAL: Same Subjects – Interviewed
Several Times – Allows Age/Cohort
Comparisons
• CROSS-SECTIONAL: Different Subjects –
Interviewed Once – Little Ability to Analyze
Age-Cohort Distinctions
• SEQUENTIAL: Different Subjects – Allows
Controls for Age/Cohort Differences – Less
Expensive Than Longitudinal
ALL STUDIES ON AGED
• Problems With Lack of Diversity of Subjects
• Difficulty Getting “Lists” for Samples
• Lists Often Biased (e.g, AARP Lists)
– Exclude Minorities; Retiree Lists Omit NonWorkers
• Old People Resist Participating in Studies
– Tuskegee Impact
– General Distrust of Science
– Other Interests (Bingo!)
SUMMARY: RESEARCH ON AGING:
PROBLEMS & ASSETS
• Research on Aging Requires Different
Methodologies
• Makes It More Expensive
• Makes It Difficult to Recruit Subjects
• Makes It Difficult to Sort Out Differences
Between AGE & COHORT Differences