A Textual Analysis of American Government Reports on Aging

This study demonstrates a textual approach to analyzing policy documents to establish a method of study applicable to any social policy documents. It should be of interest to policy analysts, critical discourse analysts, sociologists and social gerontologists.

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This study demonstrates a textual approach to analyzing policy documents to establish a method of study applicable to any social policy documents. This method should be analytically adequate to this kind of material and of critical interest both from the standpoint of substantive policy areas (here, policy on ageing and "the aged") and the broader standpoints of democratic practice, social stratification and the emancipatory possibilities of social theory. This study should interest policy analysts, critical discourse analysts, sociologists and social gerontologists.