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Missionary Zeal and the Scholarly Stance: Policy and Commitment in Research on Old Age*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2008

Gilbert Smith
Gilbert Smith
Affiliation:
Professor of Social Administration, Department of Social Policy and Professional Studies, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, United Kingdom.
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Abstract

There is a danger that the ‘missionary zeal’ exhibited by some social gerontologists in the interests of those members of society who are older than others, may endanger the subject's ‘scholarly stance’ and the potential contribution to social policy of research on old age. This paper discusses four facets of the matter: (1) the anticipated values underpinning policies of state welfare (2) personal feelings and values in the business of research (3) values and the kind of data we value and (4) the question of whose side we are on. The paper concludes with a theoretical model of the relationship between the social policy process and the social research process as framework for understanding exactly how values about ageing impact both research about ageing and the relationship between that research and relevant social policies.

Type
Research Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , June 1989 , pp. 105 - 121
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

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References

NOTES

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