Social scientists have proposed several different models for the relationship between social science theory, empirical social research and the actual making of public social policy. This book, first published in 1980, seeks to provide a critical analysis of the impact of research on policy through the detailed examination of the part which research played in the work of Royal Commissions of Inquiry. This book will be of interest to students of the social sciences, particularly sociology and politics.

Preface; Acknowledgements; Contributors; 1. Introduction 2. Committees and Committeemen 3. Research and Redcliffe-Maud Commission 4. Research as Stage Management: The Case of the Plowden Committee 5. In the Course of Investigation 6. The Seebohm Committee and the Under-use of Research 7. A Commission and a Cost-Benefit Study 8. The Younger Committee and Research 9. Research for the Royal Commission on the Press, 1974-7 10. The Royal Commission on the Press, 1974-7 11. The Royal Commission on the Distribution of Income and Wealth 12. Royal Commission Reporting; Select Bibliography; Index