Description of the Experiment
The Covid-19 pandemic was a challenge for all, but especially for older adults who are at the most risk of complications or death with this disease. As the restrictions linked to the COVID-19 pandemic are lifted, the citizens return to their everyday lives and begin to attend public spaces without masks. However, for senior citizens, the adaptation to this reality may be a challenge. For one, these individuals are more susceptible to COVID-19 complications, and therefore, if they are infected with this virus, they have a higher chance of becoming seriously ill or dying. Secondly, with some states lifting mandatory masks in public spaces, senior citizens are exposed to more risks linked to contracting the virus. Finally, these individuals, like many other people of different ages in the state, have developed a routine that was built based on safety regulations and restrictions. Changing the habits that senior citizens have acquired over these two years may be a serious challenge for them. Therefore, the goal of the laboratory experiment that this paper will outline is to test the hypothesis about the needs of senior citizens in the post-pandemic era.
The hypothesis of this experiment is that senior citizens require additional support from social services to return to normal lives and communicate with others safely. For example, these citizens might still fear communicating with others as they might contract the virus this way. On the other hand, communication is a normal part of any person’s daily interactions, and it is vital for addressing the basic needs of each human. Therefore, the social services would need to set up a support program in which they would explain to the senior citizens the risks that are still present in the post-pandemic world and the ways of interacting with others in a manner that does not endanger their health. Additionally, these services can set up meetings for senior citizens that would allow them to communicate with one another and alleviate the feeling of loneliness. To identify the exact needs of the senior citizens, the individuals who conduct the experiment would have to conduct unstructured interviews. The questions would focus on the fears and misconceptions that this population might have. Additionally, the interviewer would ask about the current lives of these citizens to determine their needs.
Oral History Project
As with any experiment, the resources in terms of time and finances that the researcher possesses are limited and need to be used with caution to achieve reliable results. I would contact the local social services center to ask for their help, support, and guidance with this experiment. Additionally, I would ask them to help recruit the participants, as this agency takes care of the senior citizens in the area. Evidently, any research requires consent from the participants to comply with the ethical standards; hence the employees of the center or the researcher would explain the purpose of this experiment to the prospective subjects before conducting an interview with them. Additionally, since interviews are time-consuming and should take between 30 minutes to one hour, the number of subjects should be limited as well to ensure that the researcher can perform a quality analysis of the collated data. Hence, for this study, three to five participants should be recruited for an in-depth interview. The interview itself can take place in the social services center or through the phone if the participants feel safer communicating through a telecommunications device.
The methodology of this research is an unstructured interview. An unstructured interview is a data-gathering strategy that focuses on asking senior citizens questions to get information about a certain topic. Unstructured interviews have no predetermined format, and no questions are pre-arranged. However, since the topic of the research is known, the researcher can have a list of questions they will use to guide the interview. This approach in research is often qualitative and can be particularly useful for social science or humanities research concentrating on personal experiences. An unstructured interview is an excellent exploratory research method. They are known for being casual and adaptable, and they may elicit enthralling answers from the participants, which will help create a welcoming atmosphere for this research, as the topic may be intimidating for senior citizens. Each interview will be recorded, and after collecting all the answers, I will analyze them to find patterns or similar answers that would provide insight into the hypothesis. The following list of questions would be used to initiate the conversation, although the subjects would be encouraged to elaborate on each topic if they want to:
- As a senior citizen, do you have a fear of contracting COVID-19?
- Do you think the restrictions with masks and mass gatherings are being elevated too soon?
- Do you feel that the number of people you communicate with in person has decreased in the last two years?
- Would you want to participate in live events considering the risks of COVID-19?
- What other fears have you linked to post-pandemic life?