The Researchers' Perspective: Working with two temporalities:

life history and diary data

Joanna Bornat and Bill Bytheway

The Open University

Aims of this paper

How we recruited participants, informed them of what was involved and gained their consent to data being archived

How we have anonymised these linked data sets

How we have undertaken some primary analyses

How we are regulating access by secondary analysts

Fieldwork for The Oldest Generation (TOG) project

An eighteen month period, autumn 2007 to summer 2009

Twelve diverse families, each including at least one person aged 75 or more, recruited through the UK-wide Open University network

One member of the family aged 75 or more, nominated as the Senior

One member nominated as the Recorder

Methods

Life history interviews with the 12 seniors, autumn 2007

Diaries kept by the 12 recorders over an 18-month period

Photographs taken by the recorders and others

Monthly contact with the recorders

Follow-up interviews with the seniors, spring 2009

Recruitment

Circular to the UK-wide OU network inviting volunteers

Selection in order to maximise diversity

Induction

Maintaining participation

Informed consent

The original invitation

The induction and introductions

Monthly contact re. diaries

Regular newsletters

Life history interviews

First interview:

Childhood experiences and subsequent life events

Current domestic circumstances and family-related activities

Follow-up interview:

Changes and events since first interview

The economic downturn

The future

Diaries

7 daughters

2 sons

1 niece

I husband

I self (the senior kept his own diary)

Events (celebrations, visits)

Life transitions (moving house, going into hospital)

Activities etc. of the senior

Photographs

Taken to record:

‘life in and around where your Senior lives,

family events and commemorations, and

anything else that you think reflects the kinds of

networks you all maintain as a family’.

Comparing data sources

Life histories Diaries Photographs

Retrospective Continuing contemporary

Instant

Oral Written Visual

Biographical (but based on answers to questions)

Autobiographical Static

The individual perspective

A collective perspective An image

Past (historical time) and prospective

Continuous present (eventual historical time)

Present (eventual historical time)

Five primary analyses

1 Orientations towards the future (21st Century Society)

2 Attitudes to risk (Brit J Soc Work)

3 Memories of significant events

4 Embodiment in later life

5 Life transitions

One example of how we have used evidence from the three datasets

Recollections of a childhood experience:

An extract from an interview with the senior, 4.9.07

The entry in the diary for 27.11.07

A photograph taken on 27.11.07

An extract from the interview with Alice Watson, 4.9.07

[…] I wouldn’t, I couldn’t. I don’t know why. I knew she was

dying. Why couldn’t I go and see her? And I went a few weeks

ago with my friend and we sat at the house opposite, and I said

“That’s where my Grandma was” I said, “and my Grandma died

you know upstairs there” I said. “Do you know Mary,” I said, “I

sat,” I said, “and I would not go and see her.” I said “Do you

know, if that were me today,” I said “and I was in bed and I

knew my granddaughter was downstairs and wasn’t coming

up,” I said “Do you know?” I said “I know now how I feel”. But I

could not.

The same event as recorded in the diary kept by Alice’s son, Brian, 27.11.07

As the weather is mild and pleasant Mother took a bus to Updale (see photographs).

Mother reported Updale as quiet 'not many visitors around'. Just the locals going about their business.

Mother took a photograph of her grandmother's cottage.

Mother remembers having to take flowers when Grandmother was poorly, but refused to go upstairs and sat downstairs until it was time to go home. She was ill at the time and now feels a little ashamed of herself.

The photograph that illustrates the story: Alice Watson visiting her

grandmother’s cottage, 27.11.07

Access to TOG data

Primary research team

Approved researchers

Researchers registered with Timescapes

Access to the general public