10.18743/DATA.00155
United Kingdom
odc_by
Jenkins, Harry
Harry
Jenkins
The social effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults
The dataset contains data collected for a dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MSc Social Research at Birkbeck, University of London, September 2021. The dissertation was supervised by Dr Dale Mineshima Lowe.
The dataset contains interview transcripts with seven older adults aged 69-89 living in England, focusing on their experiences and perspectives of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Data was collected using in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Interviews were conducted over the telephone as a safety precaution against COVID-19.
The interviews covered emotions older adults had felt during the pandemic; the impact of being required to stay at home, and the effects of loneliness and isolation; understanding what contact and support participants had received from friends, family, local charities and local authorities; how access to care and treatment had been affected; what coping mechanisms people had discovered; and how it had felt to be classed as vulnerable in law and public discourse. Participants had the opportunity during an earlier stage of the study to contribute to the topics covered in the interview guide used for all participants.
Participants for this study were recruited through a charity that supports older adults. A purposive sample was selected by the charity to ensure diversity in gender and ethnicity, although there was less representation from older adults of colour than hoped.
The sample had a median age of 70 and age range of 69-89. Four participants identified as female and three as male. Five participants identified as White British, one White Irish and one Black African.
Interviews were recorded and subsequently transcribed verbatim manually. Since the analysis did not rely on oral discursive features such as intonation, accents and emphasis, denaturalised transcription conventions were followed.
During the transcription process, identifiers such as names and places were removed and replaced with pseudonyms in order to anonymise the data.
Dataset
Birkbeck College, University of London
2021