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Conceptual and Methodological Issues in Research on Aging in Rural Versus Urban Environments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Anne Martin Matthews  and
Audrey Vanden Heuvel
Anne Martin Matthews
Affiliation:
University of Guelph
Audrey Vanden Heuvel
Affiliation:
University of Guelph
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Abstract

This paper examines three conceptual and methodological problems characteristic of research on patterns of aging in rural versus urban environments. These are: lack of consistency and clarity in definitions of rurality and in the application of those definitions; inconsistency in the way in which rural-urban comparisons are made and representative communities selected; and problems arising from inattention to the issue of duration of residential experience. Our analyses show how these problems also characterize the emerging body of Canadian research on aging in rural environments.

Résumé

Dans le présent article nous examinons trois problèmes conceptuels et méthodologiques concernant la recherche sur les modes de vieillissement dans les milieux ruraux par opposition aux milieux urbains. Ce sont l'absence de conséquence et de clarté qui caractérise les diverses définitions de la ruralité ainsi que l'application de ces définitions, l'absence de conséquence dans le choix et la comparaison des communautés retenues; les problèmes résultant du peu d'attention accordé à la durée du séjour. Nos analyses démontrent que ces problèmes sont caractéristiques de l'ensemble des recherches sur le vieillissement en milieu rural qui commencent à prendre corps au Canada.

Keywords

RuralMethodologicalResidential HistoryMeasurement
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 5 , Issue 1 , Spring/Printemps 1986 , pp. 49 - 60
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1986

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