Pilot Study

The first step in our research project is an initial two-week pilot study to explore the usefulness of various digital research tools for accessing data on the internet.  In this pilot we want to explore the various conversations about age at work that are currently taking place, look at the voices that are participating and means by which converstations are conducted.

As a first stage, we have looked at websites of key groups involved in discussions of age at work including various government agencies, organizations specifically involved in advising organizations on issues of age at work (including the Employers Forum of Age, The Age and Employment Network, the CIPD) and campaigning groups (such as Age UK, Interns Anonymous).

We are using these websites to generate a number search terms to explore wider discussions around these issues on the internet.  These terms will then be used within tools such as Nexus and Google Alert over a two week period.  The pilot will enable us to explore a number of practical research issues while also developing ideas about the types and ranges of ‘conversations’ and ‘voices’ that we can follow within the main research project.  Ethical issues associated with different forms of data and collection methods will aslo be reviewed during the pilot.