Appendix: how the scoping review was conducted

Summary

This Appendix is intended to provide detailed information on how the database searches used to identify the articles reviewed in Chapters Four to Six were conducted and how the identified literature has been analysed. To facilitate navigation in this Appendix, I will address each of the questions which I assume most readers who are interested in methodology will have in the order in which I made these decisions. I take for granted that most readers would be interested in the actual process I followed, even if not all of them will necessarily want to know the nitty gritty of each of the decisions I made along the way. Thus, by dividing this Appendix into sections that each answer specific questions, I hope to make it easier for readers to orient themselves, not only as far as the process as a whole is concerned, but also in terms of the specific questions they might have about each step.

Selecting the databases used to identify the peerreviewed articles

As stated in the Introduction, delineating the parameters for a theorising exercise such as the one on which this book is based requires that one identifies the scientific communities that generate the research to be reviewed. Ageing and old age is a huge field (much more so than ethnicity and race) so the first decision I had to make was to decide what angle to pursue when it comes to the array of angles from which ageing and old age research can be launched. My own expertise as a social scientist led me to decide against journals specialising in geriatrics, medical and/or health sciences, and to opt instead for journals specialising in gerontology and/or ageing. In other words, this was the first sampling-related decision I made.

With regard to health sciences, it must be mentioned that the reason why I opted not to include journals specialising in this field is that these journals do not specifically aim to be the publication channels par excellence for research on ageing and old age. Although there is indeed research published on ageing and old age, and on ethnicity and race, in such journals I opted to focus on journals that – by virtue of their own aims and scope – specifically aim to publish research on ageing and old age as well as on ethnicity and race.