Loneliness among the elderly has become a pressing issue in Western societies. In the Spanish context, the problem of the so-called “empty” Spain disproportionately affects this population group—elderly individuals living in rural areas with low population density, and therefore at higher risk of social exclusion and isolation. We introduce here a mixed-method, quantitative-qualitative research protocol, triangulated with technological tools, designed to improve both data acquisition and subsequent data analysis and interpretation. This study will take place in a rural locality in the Extremadura region (Spain), chosen according to a particular socio-demographic profile. The De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale will be used on a cohort of 80 people over 65 years old. Within this cohort, a smaller sample of 20–30 individuals will be selected for semi-structured interviews about their beliefs and experiences of loneliness. Finally, data gathered from technological tools (smartbands, Bluetooth sensors) will allow us to monitor social interactions and to map daily loneliness/interaction patterns. Data will be triangulated by analyzing and comparing the empirical material gathered through these different methods and tools. Strict adherence to ethical standards for data protection and handling will be essential through data collection and analysis. As well as providing insights into the phenomenon of loneliness in old age, the use of different methods and tools for data collection will provide the basis for an epistemological reflection on the scope and limits of each one of these methods.

老年人的孤独感已成为西方社会的紧迫问题。在西班牙的情况下，所谓的“空”西班牙问题严重影响了这一人口群体，即居住在人口密度低的农村地区的老年人，因此面临更高的被社会排斥和孤立的风险。我们在这里介绍一种混合方法，定量定性研究方案，并结合了技术工具，旨在改善数据采集以及后续数据分析和解释。这项研究将在埃斯特雷马杜拉地区（西班牙）的农村地区进行，并根据特定的社会人口统计学特征进行选择。De Jong Gierveld孤独感量表将用于一组65岁以上的80人。在这个群组中 我们将选择一个较小的20–30个人样本进行半结构化访谈，以了解他们的信仰和孤独感。最后，从技术工具（智能带，蓝牙传感器）收集的数据将使我们能够监视社交互动并绘制每日孤独/互动模式。通过分析和比较通过这些不同方法和工具收集的经验材料，将对数据进行三角测量。通过数据收集和分析，必须严格遵守有关数据保护和处理的道德标准。除了提供对老年人孤独现象的见解之外，使用不同的数据收集方法和工具将为认识论上反思这些方法中每一种方法的范围和局限性提供基础。