Methodological Issues in Surveying Older People 3 |
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| Coordinator 1 | Mr Jan-Lucas Schanze (GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences (Dept. Survey Design and Methodology)) |
| Coordinator 2 | Dr Emanuela Sala (Department of Sociology and Social Research, University of Milano Bicocca) |
| Coordinator 3 | Dr Annette Scherpenzeel (SHARE – Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA) ) |
| Coordinator 4 | Professor Wander van der Vaart (University of Humanistic Studies, Utrecht) |
| Coordinator 5 | Ms Daniele Zaccaria (Department of Sociology and Social Research, University of Milano Bicocca) |
The fast ageing processes which European societies are going through lead to a situation that has never existed before. Many of the current pension systems in European countries will in the long term be unsustainable, the costs of health care are steadily rising and intergenerational cohesion seems to be threatened. The key to meet these manifold challenges is knowledge. National and international surveys that target on or cover the ageing population groups can deliver this knowledge but face special methodological issues. For example:
• strong systematic nonresponse related to health problems
• cognitive impairments affecting data quality
• restricted use of modes (online, mobile)
• the need of specific interviewer skills and training
• conversion of gate keepers who refuse / hesitate to let an elderly person be interviewed
• use of proxy interviews or 'triad interviews' and consequences for data quality.
• undercoverage of the institutionalized elderly
• tracing which panel members died
With this outline, we invite papers addressing any of the topics mentioned above or other issues of surveying the elderly, as well as papers presenting potential survey tools that might help to improve data collection among the elderly and reduce sources or error.