The Life Course Metaphor: Implications for Biography and Interpretive Research

John W. Murphy; Steven L. Arxer; Linda L. Belgrave

doi:10.18778/1733-8077.6.1.02

Authors

John W. Murphy University of Miami, USA
Steven L. Arxer Belmont Abbey College, USA
Linda L. Belgrave University of Miami, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.6.1.02

Keywords:

Third age, Qualitative gerontology, Meaning making, Meaningful engagement

Abstract

This paper reviews qualitative research in the United States, highlighting the ways research has changed in the era of the third age. With growing attention to positive and uplifting aspects of aging, qualitative research has played a critical role in the exploration of the ways in which older adults are engaging in meaningful ways with others. We describe two key methodological approaches that have been important to examining positive aspects of aging and exploring the extent to which a growing number of years of healthy retirement are redefining the aging experience: ethnographic research and grounded theory research. We also review key topics associated with qualitative research in the era of the third age. These topics fit within two dominant frameworks – research exploring meaningmaking in later life and research exploring meaningful engagement in later life. These frameworks were critically important to raising attention to meaningful experiences and interactions with others, and we propose that the agenda for future qualitative research in the United States should continue contributing to these frameworks. However, we note that a third framework should also be developed which examines what it means to be a third age through use of a phenomenological approach, which will assist in the important task of theory building about the third age.

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Author Biographies

John W. Murphy, University of Miami, USA

John W. Murphy is Professor of Sociology at the University of Miami. He received his PhD from Ohio State University. His areas of specialization are sociological theory and globalization. His most recent book, with Jung Min Choi, is Globalization and the Prospects for Critical Reflection.
Steven L. Arxer, Belmont Abbey College, USA

Steven L. Arxer is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Belmont Abbey College. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Florida and has published in the areas of globalization, education, postmodernism, and aging. He is currently interested in the role of civil society in Latin America and has conducted qualitative research on the identity work of NGOs in Colombia.
Linda L. Belgrave, University of Miami, USA

Linda Liska Belgrave is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Miami. She received her PhD from Case Western Reserve University. Her general areas of specialization are social psychology, social gerontology, and medical sociology. The current focus of her research is well-being and aging.

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