To the degree that policy analysis includes these three aims it includes but goes beyond the aims of traditional social science disciplines. These disciplines have so far tended to avoid valuative and normative approaches, in part because of deep-seared belief in the separability of facts and values has sometimes contributed to misunderstandings about the methodology and aims of policy analysis. Prescriptions on recommendations are identified with policy advocacy, which is often viewed as a way to make emotional appeals and ideological pronouncements or to engage in political activism, rather than as a way to produce policy-relevant information and plausible arguments about possible solutions for public problems.