ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how the science-policy nexus in the drug field can be explored and explained. It highlights the selection of the case of the development of Belgian drug policy between 1996 and 2003. The discourse analysis consisted of a detailed and systematic reading of 164 policy documents including formal, publicly available expressions of strategy and statements of intent made by the Federal Government, as well as parliamentary discussions. Norman Fairclough's approach represents the most developed methodological framework for critical discourse analysis (CDA). Practicalities apart, qualitative data analysis programmes are only considered useful in the early stages of a discourse analysis. Gaining valid and reliable data from elite interviews therefore required making a good first impression and to have made proper preparation. The semi-structured interviews were guided by a topic list which was prepared beforehand, and which provided a framework for the interview.
