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Elderly, ICTs and Qualitative Research: Some Methodological Reflections

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Book cover Human Aspects of IT for the Aged Population. Technology Design and Acceptance (HCII 2021)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 12786))

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Abstract

The study of the use of media by the elderly has been producing an ever-increasing number of social researches. ICTs are seen by many as tools for a more actively facing ageing processes. Moreover, due to the reduction of the age-related digital divide, older adults represent an interesting type of users. From this standpoint, social researchers have been increasingly investigating older adults’ uses and non-uses of ICTs, both with quantitative and qualitative methods, online and offline tools.

Starting from the presentation of three empirical studies carried out by the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Italy) between 2013 and 2020, the following paper aims to reflect on limits and opportunities offered by different research designs in this field of studies. To this purpose, we provide an overview on methods adopted in order to grasp the relationship between the elderly and technologies in complex and articulated social contexts. Furthermore, we will reflect on future lines of inquiry in this field of research, advocating for a greater interdisciplinarity in ageing studies as well as underlining the benefits offered by ethnographic methods and overall qualitative research. Finally, we sketch potential issues referring to the future of empirical research on the elderly in the upcoming years of the post-pandemic era.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The number of foreigners over 60 represents 8.8% of the total number of foreigners residing in Italy [14].

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Acknowledgments

Research entitled “I don’t want be inactive: the lengthening of life, a challenge for generations, an opportunity for the society” (Sect. 2), was funded by Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Italy).

Research entitled “Understanding the Role of Internet Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Family Relationships with Grandparents” (Sect. 3) was funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and by the centres of research/departments involved in the network (for Italy, OssCom – the research centre on media and communication of Università Cattolica).

Research “Harvest: eHealth and Ageing in Rural Areas: Transforming Everyday Life, Digital Competences, and Technology” (Sect. 4) is funded by Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) “More Years, Better Lives” (Third Call). The third Joint Transnational Call, launched in December 2016, is entitled “Ageing and Place in a digitising world”, Joint Programming Initiative “More Years, Better Lives” (JPI MYBL) is supported by J-Age II. J-Age II is funded by Horizon2020, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, under Grant Agreement nr 643850.

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  1. Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy

    Simone Carlo & Francesco Bonifacio

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  1. Simone Carlo
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  2. Francesco Bonifacio
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Correspondence to Simone Carlo .

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  1. Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

    Qin Gao

  2. Chongqing University, Chongqing, China

    Jia Zhou

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Carlo, S., Bonifacio, F. (2021). Elderly, ICTs and Qualitative Research: Some Methodological Reflections. In: Gao, Q., Zhou, J. (eds) Human Aspects of IT for the Aged Population. Technology Design and Acceptance. HCII 2021. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12786. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78108-8_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78108-8_1

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