QUALITATIVE GERONTOLOGY - METHODOLOGY AND MEANING

This commentary examines four articles in qualitative and humanistic g erontology, with the purpose of explicating the goals of such work, th e criteria that make them exemplary, and the contribution they make to an enriched understanding of aging and old age. Qualitative work, und ertaken with its own evaluative criteria, can also challenge understan dings gained through quantitative research. For example, by revealing how individuals shape their lives and find meanings, social behavior a ssumes a complexity often hidden by other forms of research. This comm entary suggests that to understand how people experience old age and t o develop policy and programmatic responses, it is necessary to ask qu estions and design research sufficiently robust and varied to explicat e the diversity and ambiguity we know exists.