Navigating hybrid remote data collection methods (RDCM) in co-design with older adults: exploring roles, opportunities, and trade-offs

Interest in remote data collection methods (RDCM) for co-design research has grown recently, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic’s restrictions on traditional in-person practices. Existing RDCM, which rely heavily on Internet access, often exclude marginalised groups like older people and primarily collect textual or verbal data. This paper explores enhancing RDCM’s inclusiveness and diversity of data collected in co-design by examining findings from a remote project that actively engaged older adults as co-designers to address later-life loneliness, using a hybrid approach of online sessions and tangible toolkits. The findings reveal the intertwining relationship between RDCM and co-design, identifying two types of data collected: outcomes-focused and process data. The hybrid RDCM effectively expand geographical and demographic inclusiveness, enabling older adults with limited digital skills to fully participate and collect diverse data, including tangible and non-textual forms. However, the findings indicate trade-offs, such as the exclusion of reluctant older Internet users and progress at a cost in terms of additional time, effort, and resources. This paper contributes significantly to RDCM research in co-design contexts and lays foundational insights for future research aimed at increasing democratic inclusiveness in remote co-design settings and diversifying data collection.