financed building intended for general public use to have at least one entrance on ground level, or accessible by ramp rather than by stairs. The older members of the community, as well as other citizens, should have easy access to such public buildings.

Education and recreation.-Under this topic I shall merely ask a few questions. Does your State law provide for courses in adult education in your school system? Does your State department of education have a supervisor of adult education? Do your county and community school systems provide curriculums in adult education? If they do so provide, are the courses offered at times and in places which make them accessible to the aging? Are they tuition free courses? I raise these questions merely to suggest that these are areas which might be considered as subjects of legislation, if your laws are silent on these matters.

As far as recreation is concerned, do the facilities made available for the public generally adequately provide for the older members of the community? Are the recreation centers open and available to them? Are there parks and walking places, as well as playgrounds and baseball diamonds? Are there supervisors of parks and recreation who take an interest in the outdoor activity of the older, as well as of the younger, members of the community?

II. In answer to the question: How can a legislative program be developed which is fair to the community as a whole as well as to the aging, I should like to say simply that our best safeguard is to develop State commissions which are well balanced and representative of all points-of-view in the community. If your State commission on the aging determines what legislation shall be sponsored and that commission is a representative commission, you have the best possible guarantee of a balanced program. It has certainly been my experience as presiding officer of our commission that no one proposal made to our commission passes without considerable scrutiny. There are always members present who raise the point that we must keep in mind the total community, as well as the aging whom we are specifically organized to protect and assist. Only one or two such advocates of the general interest are necessary to keep a commission from developing a one-sided program.

III. Finally, how does one get legislation passed? Let me say to begin with that it has been our experience that if a commission is legislatively active, a State legislature will recognize it and give it work to do. For example, it has been customary in our State to refer many important pieces of legislation to our legislative council for study and recommendation before the full general assembly acts upon such legislation. However, recent sessions of our general assembly have referred several pieces of legislation which had a bearing on the welfare of our older citizens, to our commission instead of to the legislative council. This included a nursing home construction bill, income tax legislation for the elderly, bills outlawing age discrimination in employment, child-parent support laws, and similar legislation.

As we are all aware the work for the passage of a measure should begin long before it is introduced in a legislature. It should start as soon as a position has been taken by the State commission and a selling job should be done with the legislators while they are still home and before the legislature meets. Getting the legislator to understand the measure thoroughly before he becomes immersed in a vast stack of legislation is important. Likewise, letting him know how many of his constituents will benefit from the proposal is extremely important. If the proposal is a constructive one there are many organizations and individuals whose support can be and should be enlisted. However, we of the aging brigade have a strong reserve contingent in the members of the golden age clubs, who have a direct stake in any legislation we may propose. There is no reason whatsoever why these club members cannot be called upon to support the proposals made by commissions on the aging. Their votes are as effective as younger votes and these citizens have more time than many others to communicate with their legislators. They should be conscious of their citizenship responsibilities, and if they are not, it is our task to educate them along these

lines.

The old adage that "it is well to have a friend at court" is especially true with reference to legislation. Therefore, it is important to maintain close contacts, not only with the public at large, but especially with the administration, with the budge bureau, and with the members of the general assembly individually and collectively.

Whenever possible obtain administration approval of your proposal in advance of public announcement of the proposal. Likewise, if it involves a budgetary

appropriation, keep the budget bureau well informed. The same goes for the heads of the departments of government involved in the legislation.

Finally, let me suggest that it is not well to shy away from including legislators in the membership of your State commissions. Take them into your confidence, make them a part of your organizational setup, keep them well informed of what your commission is doing and needs. It has been my personal experience that serving both in our general assembly and on our State commission has worked out to the benefit of both, and established that close liaison between the two which was very desirable.

RESEARCH AND DEMONSTRATION IN A STATE UNIT ON AGING: PROBLEMS AND

In today's world, "research" is an almost magical word which commands attention, inspires respect, and creates, in some degree, the kind of awe formerly reserved for the term "science." It is hardly surprising, therefore, that there has been some tendency to think of research as a cure-all through the use of which any and all problems can be dealt with and dispatched once and for all. This has led in turn to a disposition in some quarters to jump on the research bandwagon, and in a good many cases the vehicle has not been the one best suited to getting individuals and agencies to their destinations. This morning, therefore, I think it is important to give some sober attention-as a preliminary to discussing research and demonstration in terms of methods and problemsto the practical question of who should do research and who should not do research.

3

First it will be helpful to state as exactly as possible what I understand "research" and "demonstration" to mean. For the present purpose "research" is defined as the application of the scientific method to solving a problem, testing a hypothesis, or discovering new phenomena and new relations among phenomena. Among the familiar elements of the scientific method are objectivity; systematic, orderly procedures; and careful and precise reporting of methods that will permit independent replication by other investigators. Although this definition removes from the research category certain kinds of datagathering activities that often are designated by the same term, this is not to imply that such nonscientific investigations or studies are less worthy or of a lower order. Rather, it is to emphasize that they are different and that they are not included in the meaning of the word "research" as I shall employ it today.

"Demonstration" refers to the planner trial under controlled conditions of a new or different method of providing a service. The purpose of a demonstration is to provide evidence through the actual operation of a service or program that it constitutes a way of solving a problem or meeting a need which is suited to the particular community, or that it offers advantages over existing methods or programs. Generally speaking, a demonstration project is planned to run for a limited length of time, often but not always with the support of other than community funds, with the expectation that its continuation will be dependent upon local acceptance and funding following the test period. Inasmuch as a demonstration is essentially a trial intended to show what a given method can accomplish in a particular setting, care is usually taken to assure that the results of the program can readily be evaluated.

It is clear enough that "research" and "demonstration" are quite different; one, as defined here, is a scientific procedure, while the other is an operational procedure which may or may not involve the precision of science. Now I should like to return to the fundamental matter of the proper role of the State unit on aging in relation to research.

The section of the White House Conference on Aging which directed its attention to State organization made two recommendations having to do with research. It stated that the "responsibilities of such a State unit should in

1 Prepared for presentation before the conference of State executives for aging, Apr. 11, 1962, Washington, D.C.

Research social scientist, Pinellas County Health Department, St. Petersburg, and associate professor of sociology, University of South Florida, Tampa.

See Henry P. Fairchild, "Dictionary of Sociology," New York: Philosophical Library, 1944.

clude *** the following: To gather and disseminate information about re search and action programs, and provide a clearinghouse for current plans and ongoing activities" and "To encourage State departments, universities, and other appropriate agencies to conduct needed research in the field of aging." Thus the members of the State organization section failed to recommend that a State commission or committee on aging conduct research on its own and, by implication at least, urged that the unit limit itself to the functions of stimulating others to carry on needed investigations and of cataloging relevant projects.

It seems to me that this interpretation of the responsibility of the State unit is, in general, logical and defensible. Scientific research can be carried on most fruitfully under certain conditions that are unlikely to exist in a State unit, especially one that is new and small. These conditions include a well-trained professional staff, the intellectually stimulating atmosphere created by the presence of others with similar training and interests, adequate libraries, and freedom from operating responsibilities. Colleges and universities, especially those with graduate programs, are the institutions most likely to provide these conditions, but they also are found occasionally in other institutions and agencies, both public and private. Commonly, then, the State unit will be making the best use of resources and accomplishing its research purposes most efficiently and effectively if it relies on such other institutions and agencies.

On the other hand, there may well be instances in which a given State commission or committee does have the qualified personnel, the interest, the proper intellectual environment, the access to libraries, and the necessary funds to make it entirely appropriate for the agency to engage in its own scientific research. The public agency with which I am associated is carrying on a research program of considerable magnitude in connection with an operating program at the county level and in the absence of a direct university connection. But such cases will probably continue to be exceptional, occurring only sporadically around the country.

What, then, is the proper role of the State unit on aging in regard to research? Two elements in this role have already been defined by the White House Conference recommendations. By gathering and disseminating information about current research, demonstration, and program activities, the State unit can perform a valuable service. Usually it will prove to be the only agency in a given State whose special interest in aging and the aged makes it the logical clearinghouse for such data. Quite as important is the task of encouraging and aiding other institutions and agencies to conduct investigations for which it sees a need. Because of its special vantage point, the unit on aging can perceive problems requiring study in order to further its own program, and often it will be in an excellent position to stimulate and even to assist others in designing the desired investigations.

Thus far I have used the word "research" only in the sense of scientific studies, and I have stressed that these can usually be performed to best advantage outside the official unit on aging. But at this point it is essential to identify the category of fact-gathering activities referred to earlier as falling outside the realm of scientific research as it is usually understood. No term fully de scriptive of such studies is in general use, but they are characterized in most cases by dependence on secondary rather than primary data. Examples are compilations of research reports bearing on a given problem or topic, surveys of action programs, collections of published or unpublished statistical data relating to a particular area of interest, or questionnaire surveys of State agencies in order to summarize all services relating to leisure activities of the aged. Studies of the kind just mentioned should, in my opinion, be a responsibility of State units on aging and ought indeed to constitute an important aspect of their work. Typically there is a good deal of information available regarding the kinds of problems we face, but it is scattered about in numerous publications, annual or special reports, agency files, and elsewhere. Much can be learned and a great amount of light can be shed on the nature and extent of problems and ways to deal with them if the State unit undertakes to compile and review critically such information. The recent State reports prepared for the White House Conference illustrate what can be accomplished with little cost and limited personnel when existing data are made use of.

Finally, the State unit might well accept considerable responsibility for stimulating, initiating, and perhaps conducting demonstration projects. Since demonstrations involve the provision of services, they fall within the action

U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, special staff on aging, "The Nation and Its Older People," Washington: Government Printing Office, 1961, p. 268.

frame of reference which is especially suited to the State agency. They use knowledge gained in another community, showing the suitability of methods and techniques for our own community. Thus they can contribute importantly to the improvement of the lot of the elderly in a State.

Sometimes there is a tendency to deprecate the value of demonstrations on the ground that the usefulness of the methods has been made clear elsewhere and that such evidence ought to be adequate to influence their acceptance in our State or community. This is a questionable line of reasoning. Those persons and groups within a State or community that have control over public and private funds often tend to be skeptical of the applicability to their own situations of new methods that may have worked well in other States or communities. This attitude is based in part on the conviction frequently expressed that the conditions in other places-that is, the people and their needs, the cultural milieu, the health and welfare agencies and their relationships to each other-are so different as to invalidate comparisons. Hence a local demonstration may be well-nigh essential to obtaining the required acceptance and support at the State or community level. Therefore, the State unit will be well advised to give thoughtful consideration to those instances in which a well-planned and well-executed demonstration project can advance significantly the number and breadth of services available to the people it serves.

In what has been said thus far about demonstration projects it has been assumed that evidence of success in a project will be followed automatically by continuation of the service with the aid of regular rather than special funds. Such a sequence cannot, of course, be taken for granted. To pave the way for such a desired outcome, one essential is to design the project with due consideration to evaluation of the results. This requires, first, that the goals or objectives be set out clearly, so that there can be no doubt, when the data are analyzed at the conclusion of the trial period, whether the project did succeed or fail. It requires, also, that, if at all possible, some quantitative measures of the effectiveness of the service be devised so that the conclusions as to the outcomes of the demonstration rest on something more substantial and more defensible than personal judgments. In addition to building adequate evaluation into the design of the project, it is highly desirable, if not essential, to insure widespread understanding and enthusiasm by bringing key community leaders into the whole process of planning, operating, and evaluating the undertaking. If this last task can be accomplished, and if the desirability of the service can be clearly established, then the final step of followup should be relatively easy to take.

These, then, are the principal activities in research and demonstration to which State units should address themselves, in my judgment. Having set forth these four major functions-the clearinghouse function, the stimulating function, the information gathering and analysis function, and the demonstration function—as a framework within which to consider the topic, I should now like to turn to some special aspects of these matters.

The task of assembling information about current research and action programs is properly seen as a basic function. It serves as a means of keeping the State staff well informed about activities and resources, tends to direct attention to the unit on aging as a State resource, and aids both in exploiting the knowledge to be gained from familiarity with what is being done and in avoiding duplication and undesirable overlapping in efforts. Among the major sources of such information are the colleges and universities. Recently the Institute for Social Gerontology of the University of Michigan has made a new survey of training activities in the field of gerontology, and this can serve as a useful guide to the specific departments and other units of the colleges and universities in which gerontological work is in progress. It is likely also that some of the State departments, particularly welfare, health, vocational rehabilitation, and the employment service, will have work underway that is more or less directly in the field of aging and the aged. Certain serial publications include either lists or news accounts of current research and action projects. Particularly valuable are Aging, the monthly newsletter of the Special Staff on Aging; The Gerontologist, published quarterly by the Gerontological Society; An Inventory of Social and Economic Research in Health, issued annually by the Health Information Foundation; and Sources of Morbidity Data, prepared each year by the Public Health Service and published by the Government Printing Office. Compilations of members' research in progress are prepared annually by a number of professional societies and by local, State, and regional gerontological societies.

To be effective in stimulating and coordinating research and demonstrations, a State unit must establish and maintain liaison with those institutions and agencies in which investigations are underway or are likely to be undertaken. Since each of these research units, in most cases, has its own policies and may, in fact, be involved in a long-term program of studies, it is unrealistic to expect to exert much influence in the short run on the kinds of problems given attention. Consideration should be given to forming an advisory committee whose members represent the major units doing research. Such a committee can be an excellent mechanism for drawing the key people into thoughtful consideration of the questions for research and for communicating to them a sense of urgency regarding the development of new knowledge that will contribute to the solution of pressing problems. If the advisory committee on research on aging wishes, it can go beyond periodic meetings to hold seminars, workshops, and conferences or even to publish descriptive lists of research in progress.

In connection with studies and demonstrations to be performd by the State unit on aging with its own staff, both preparation of project applications and sources of financial support require some discussion, and the two are interrelated. The writing of the application for support is an exacting task. Although a wide variety of relevant matters has to be taken into account in the preparation of a particular document, a few elements must nearly always be kept in mind; and these are among the criteria of acceptability that will be invoked by those who review the statement of the project and measure it against other applications competing for funds.

A first step in formulating and refining the question for study or demonstration and in shaping the design of the investigation is to become thoroughly familiar with reports of previous work having to do with the problem. The advantages are probably obvious: Your own study can begin at the frontier of knowledge, building on and adding to what has already been learned by other investigators, and you will avoid the danger of proposing to study what previously has been established. Moreover, the statement regarding the project must describe its relationship to earlier studies, and it is of first importance that your discussion demonstrate that you are familiar with the more significant work of other students.

The plan for the study or demonstration should be clearly described. This sounds like a superfluous statement of the obvious, but the experience of reviewing bodies proves that applicants often fail in this respect. Sometimes writers founder on the shoals of technical language peculiar to their own fields but not readily understood by nonspecialists, but more generally procedures are not described fully enough or certain steps in the process are not described at all. The crucial fact is that those who must pass judgment on an application usually are entirely dependent for enlightenment on what is in the statement of the project; they cannot be assumed to have any other knowledge that will aid them in their job.

The plan must be logically organized and internally consistent, of course, and it must show that the writer is thoroughly familiar with practical conditions bearing on his work. For example, a design requiring interviews in a sample of proprietary nursing homes would be suspect if it did not reveal an understanding of the need to obtain in advance the approval and hopefully the support of the State and regional associations of nursing home operators. Of basic importance, also, is making the application consistent with the published policies (if such exist) for the grant program under which the request is being filed. Still more generally, the applicant should be aware of the desirability of narrowing the scope of his project, because of the tendency which usually prevails is to attempt to accomplish too much in a given undertaking.

In this brief discussion it is not possible to consider the broad matter of the techniques and methods best suited for use in studies performed by State units on aging; a much longer paper would be required to do justice to that one topic alone. Much will necessarily depend on the competence of the investigative personnel. To have a chance of success, the application should demonstrate that qualified people will conduct the study, and in this connection it is helpful to be able to identify and provide biographical information about the actual investigators if they are known; because of the known difficulty of recruiting competent investigators, there may tend to be some skepticism about the possibility of a nonuniversity unit being able to engage the people it needs. In either event, the application will in most instances be strengthened by inclusion of the names of consultants who will work with the study staff, especially if the consultants are authorities in their fields.