The intersubjective dialogic exercise through which identities and knowledge are constructed exists in a dialectic relation with the 'place' of the interview. The in situ nature of interviewing should not be overlooked. Two case studies of interviews conducted with older people in Britain about their social network and support are used to illuminate two aspects of the socio-spatial construction of interview data. First, interview sites can yield important information about the way participants construct their individual and social identities. Second, such identities can influence interviewerinterviewee dynamics.
Researchers should not treat research ethics as pertinent only when conducting particular types of research, with particular types of participants, or at certain points in the research process.This article looks at the issue of securing informed consent where adequate standards and sufficient compliance are revealed to be social constructs. Using the case of a mixed method research project, this article illustrates the demands of securing informed consent when using external agencies as intermediaries; the changing demands on research participants as a result of the scope of research; the different levels of participation required from respondents throughout different phases of the project; and the impossibility of expecting a standard response from all individuals within a research team due to the contingent nature of negotiating and maintaining consent during interviews. The fluidity of consent demands a more reflexive approach to its engagement. Ritualistic adherence to ethical procedures is thus inadequate. KEY WORDSethics / informed consent / mixed method / reflexive
The evidence-based policy and practice movement increasingly recognises the potential role of intermediaries. Unfortunately, there is little systematic attempt at defining who intermediaries may be, what they can potentially do and how they do what they do. There has also been bias in the relevant literature, with the private sector conspicuously missing. This article acknowledges the growing importance of consultancies in the knowledge industry and examines consultancy–client relationships in order to derive useful lessons for the evidencebased movement. Five consultancy approaches are identified, relating to potential intermediary roles as cross-pollinators, matchmakers, translators and processors, multiple dissemination routes, and articulators of user perspectives.
The study of minority ethnic older people in Britain is hampered by the lack of a reliable sampling frame. There are few national studies and most research projects are small and involve localised samples. The infrastructure for doing research with such population groups is poorly set up. This article attempts to address the needs of practitioners by reviewing the use of common sampling frames and approaches, pointing out caveats, and highlighting potential. More recent and innovative sampling approaches are also discussed. The article deals with issues of bias, reliability, perspective and geography. Recommendations for improved practice include being more transparent in reporting the derivation of samples, making more efficient use of existing data sets, better ways of working with community organisations as well as more effective collaborative research. It is also argued that various authorities and funding bodies should increase investment in this area, especially given the projected absolute and proportionate increases in minority ethnic older people in Britain.
The discourse surrounding community care characterises informal support being superior to and preferred over formal sources of support, with this distinction buttressed by policy changes. There is a lack of understanding of the interdependence of both spheres of support. This article argues that an individual's experience and expectation of one type of support is often made in relation to his or her understanding, expectation and experience of other sources of support. There is also an urgent need to understand how these associations operate in a cross-cultural context as it is naïve to assume that normative expectations will remain constant when the relationship between family, state and other sources of support are unstable. This article reports on findings emerging from part of a Growing Older study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council of Great Britain to explore the relationship between quality of life and the social networks and support of older people from different ethnic groups. Research involved the use of a questionnaire comprising closed- and open-ended questions. In addition, in-depth qualitative interviews covering the existence and nature of social networks and support, as well as perceptions and expectations of these, were also conducted. This article reports on data relating to a sample comprising seven White British men, 10 White British women, 12 Asian-Indian men, and nine Asian-Indian women aged 55 and over derived from the Family Resources Survey. Findings reveal that the high level of expectation for family support amongst Asian-Indian respondents coexists with a high level of expectation for state support and an acknowledgement that the ideal of family support may not always materialise. Amongst White British respondents, the high level of expectation for state support exists regardless of whether the respondent has satisfactory informal social networks. This expectation is commonly expressed in terms of rights and entitlement by White British respondents but not by Asian-Indians. Associated with this, Asian-Indian respondents display a consistently lower level of awareness and usage of a range of health and social care services. Regardless of the extent of current and past usage of services, however, respondents from both groups overwhelmingly indicate an expectation for the continued provision of such services as they would like to be able to use one or more of these at some stage.
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