By Stefano Poletti

(posted 1st March 2019)

Both quantitative and qualitative measures and outcomes are being used to evaluate the impact of the mental training techniques trialled in the Silver Santé Study.

While quantitative (e.g. behavioural, psychological, neurophysiological) research is important and gathers data within a pre-determined framework, it doesn’t always allow us to capture the richness and complexity of a participant’s own experiences of taking part in research of this kind. The addition of qualitative measures provides us with a much deeper understanding of the impact that learning a new language or practicing meditation may have on an individual’s life and can help provide answers as to why that might be the case.

In order to gather this qualitative data, one-to-one interviews are taking place with the volunteers at the end of each wave of the Age Well clinical trial. This qualitative evaluation adds important information about the subjective impact of the relevant intervention on participants. It includes, for example, their experiences of being randomly assigned to one of the intervention groups and provides valuable feedback on their own unique experiences of taking part in the group sessions and of the data collection process. They are also asked about the researchers, the intervention leaders, and the materials provided in the study as well as how they interact with the other volunteers and what they thought of the information shared during the classes.

To avoid any conflicts of interest, I have been recruited as an external researcher to the project to conduct the interviews as impartially as possible. To explore areas of interest, I gather information about the effectiveness and the impact of the Study, starting from a participant’s personal integration of it. These individual interviews enable us to access and document this broad variety of experiences (Clarke and Dawson, 1999: 39) and to enrich our knowledge of the project’s design, including its strengths and weaknesses.

During the first wave of the Study’s Age Well trial, our volunteers were highly engaged with the intervention and the interviews have allowed us to explore what contributed to this high level of interest as well as any lack of enthusiasm that may have existed. The biggest advantage of this qualitative data is the information it provides with regard to the motivation and engagement of participants throughout the project. It also helps us identify any safety and security issues (adverse effects) as well as any changes in outlook associated with their participation (e.g. social identity, belief and value systems.) – all of which are vital to truly understanding the impact of the interventions being studied.

Clarke and Dawson, 1999. Evaluation Research: An Introduction to Principles, Methods and Practice. SAGE Publications, Social Science, London