Qualitative Research and Aging in Context: Implications to Social Study in China

Sheying Chen

doi:10.18778/1733-8077.6.1.04

Authors

Sheying Chen Indiana University Southeast , USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.6.1.04

Keywords:

Qualitative Research, Gerontology, Clinical Sociology, Social Policy and GPP, Aging in China

Abstract

This article begins with a review of methods that gerontologists use in social and behavioral research. The value and focus of qualitative research are highlighted with their epistemological roots. Qualitative approaches and their uses are summarized in terms of “interpretive” and “critical” social sciences that draw the insights of sociological paradigms. With a further review of qualitative research on aging and gerontological studies in China, the article focuses on an integrated micro-macro model by illuminating the ideas of clinical sociology and the general public policy framework of an “economic state in transition.” Implications to social policy study (particularly on aging in China) are discussed.

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Author Biography

Sheying Chen, Indiana University Southeast , USA

Sheying Chen (Ph.D. UCLA) is Professor of Sociology and Assoc. Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at Indiana University (Southeast). Previously, he was Dean of Professional Schools at the University of Guam and Chair and Professor at the City University of New York (College of Staten Island). He served as Coordinator for Graduate Studies in Sociology at Zhongshan University (Guangzhou), designed China’s first national training program for social work/administration educators, and authored the first national lecture series on community service. His publication records include the first comparative book on community care in China, works on aging and mental health, articles and books on general public policy (GPP) (especially social policy of a changing “economic state”), projects on higher education management/academic administration, and volumes on research methods and measurement/analysis issues.

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