ABSTRACT
Research methodology in all areas of behavioural investigation is constantly improving. With hindsight from our own study and the accelerated rate of publications between 1963-71, we can see more clearly some of the limitations of our research methodology. To give future research workers the opportunity to learn how the state of a subject influences decisions on its development and to allow accurate interpretation of our data, we record in this chapter the sampling procedures, the ‘rationale’ behind the choice of cognitive measures used in the investigation and the data recorded for each person as actually carried out between 1963-71. The study involved 320 elderly people seen in three samples which were designated Newcastle upon Tyne Community Aged I, Community Aged II and Hospital Aged III, later organised into a Combined Aged IVsample.
