ABSTRACT
Aims of Research : Th i s study has a imed i n very broad outline to establish what are the present capacities of the elderly populations of industr ial societies i n relation to their social and economic circumstances. A r e they integrated into society or not? B y collecting data on a nat ional scale i n three countries the investigators believed that an exceptionally f i rm basis for an advance i n knowledge w o u l d be la id . B y submit t ing the collection of these data to rigorous control and coordinat ion of a k i n d not so far equalled i n any cross-national or comparative study, the investigators further believed that better constructed theories, par t icular ly of the middle range, about the aged and aging were l ikely to be developed. M u c h of the existing knowledge about o ld people was not only fragmented and loca l - ized, but was tenuous or uncertain because the different perspectives, values, definitions, and interests of research workers i n different countries had led either to conflicting results or at least to results that var ied widely i n emphasis and precision. Cross-national col laborat ion i n app ly ing the techniques of the sample survey seemed to offer a rare and yet a most attractive opportunity. T h e par t icular contr ibut ion of this study is therefore felt to l ie chiefly i n its scope and i n the systematic approach adopted towards the theoretical framework, hypotheses, and definitions.
