Centre for Policy on Ageing



Sociological research on age: legacy and challenge — a comment
Author(s)	Lars Andersson
Journal title	Ageing and Society, vol 19, part 1, January 1999
Pages	pp 133-135
Keywords	Sociology, Social Science ; Ageing process ; Theory.
Annotation	In their article in this issue of Ageing and Society, Matilda White Riley and John W Riley Jr give examples illustrating the process called cohort norm formation in the "ageing and society" paradigm. This demonstrates that many individuals collectively can change the entire "meaning" of social structures. As lives change, new norms develop and become widely accepted and "institutionalised" in structural transformations. This comment concerns what gerontological research sets out to achieve, and the appropriateness of the methodological tools and measurements used. More use needs to be made of longitudinal data that is obtained from longitudinal studies. The author of this comment remarks that we must distinguish between studies of ageing as a social process extending over the life course, and studies that focus on the social conditions of the lives of older people or, more simply, between ageing and age-related issues. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-990616207 A
Classmark	S: BG: 4D
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.