Surveying Older People in Times of Crisis: Methodological Issues 3 |
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| Coordinator 1 | Dr Michael Weinhardt (DZA German Centre of Gerontology) |
| Coordinator 2 | Dr Jan-Lucas Schanze (GESIS – Leibniz-Institute for the Social Sciences) |
| Coordinator 3 | Dr Michael Bergmann (Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE)) |
| Coordinator 4 | Dr Annette Scherpenzeel (Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (Nivel)) |
| Coordinator 5 | Dr Stefan Stuth (DZA German Centre of Gerontology) |
| Coordinator 6 | Dr Julia Simonson (DZA German Centre of Gerontology) |
European societies are undergoing difficult times, where the aftermath of the COVID-19-pandemic and the current energy crisis add to already existing challenges, such as drought and heat waves due to climate change. Many of these challenges impact the ageing populations in Europe in particular ways and surveys are essential to assess the life situations of the older population. National and international surveys that target and cover the ageing populations can deliver this important knowledge but, at the same time, face a range of very specific methodological issues. These include, but are not limited to:
- fieldwork management, contact strategies and participant engagement for older target groups
- age-related coverage errors of different sampling frames
- the institutionalised older population: undercoverage and interview challenges
- nonresponse bias and measurement error due to declining cognitive and physical (listening, reading) abilities
- restricted use of modes (online, mobile) and mixed-mode surveys for older people
- age-related interview challenges and the need for specific interviewer skills and training
- the use of proxy interviews or 'triad interviews' and consequences for data quality
- conversion of gate keepers who refuse / hesitate to let an older person be interviewed
- tracking /tracing of panel members, e.g., for people moving to institutions or the deceased
- data linkage: developments and new sources, for example to public health / death records
- age differences in the quality of data in face-to-face or self-administered interview modes
- the question of “vulnerability” of older respondents and ethical issues in general
- new survey tools to improve data collection and quality among older people
We invite papers addressing these or related issues of surveying the older population. We also invite papers on the adjustments necessary to survey older respondents during the recent pandemic and the consequences they had on the various aspects of total survey error.