Paul Felix Lazarsfeld papers, 1930-1976

Summary Information

At a Glance

Call No.:
Ms Coll\Lazarsfeld,MS#0753
Bib ID:
4079015 View CLIO record
Creator(s):
Lazarsfeld, Paul F., 1901-1976
Repository:
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Physical Description:
75500 items (283 boxes; 1 tape recording; 1 computer printout; 2 video cassettes)
Language(s):
English .
Other Finding Aids

Index of 8,000 cards serves as a guide to part one of the methods files.

Access:
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

Unique time-based media items have been reformatted and are available onsite via links in the container list. Commercial materials are not routinely digitized.

Description

Summary

Correspondence, manuscripts, notes, technical reports, memoranda, questionnaires, interview schedules, personal and professional documents, several photographs, one tape recording, and printed materials. The correspondence files contain letters to colleagues and researchers such as Bernard Berelson, Robert Lynd, Robert Merton, and Frank Stanton. The subject files document Lazarsfeld's many research projects such as the Admissions Officers Project, 1964-1970, the Planning Project for Advanced Training in Social Research, 1950-1955, and his first major endeavor, the Princeton Radio Research Project, 1937-1940. There are complete records for his 1954-1955 study on McCarthyism's effect on college teaching. These original materials consisting of correspondence, interview schedules, and questionnaires contain many detailed comments which could not be included in the published version of this study, THE ACADEMIC MIND (1958). Numerous files relate to Lazarsfeld's position as Associate Director of the Bureau of Applied Social Research (BASR). There are manuscripts of books, research papers, lectures, and articles by Lazarsfeld as well as by his students and colleagues.

A large portion of this collection is devoted to social science methodology. These classified methods files include notes for his writings, student papers, questionnaires, related correspondence, mimeographed and printed articles, and technical reports. Topics covered include sociology, psychology, statistics, and computer science. The activities files have material on the ACLU, BASR, College Entrance Examinations Board, Harvard Business School, and UNESCO.

  • Series I

  • Series II: The Academic Mind, 1958

    SERIES II: THE ACADEMIC MIND (1958). Miscellaneous materials related to study, Boxes 1-5; Respondent Sheets, 0001-2453, Boxes 6-8; Unsorted Questionnaires, Boxes 9-12; Questionnaires, 0001-2453, Boxes 13-90.

    A bound volume that links questionnaire numbers to individual faculty members, who are identified by institution and academic discipline, is found in box II.4. Boxes 9-12 contain numbered questionnaires that were not interfiled into the in-sequence questionnaires in boxes 13-90. If a questionnaire is not found in the number sequence, check boxes 9-12.

  • Series III: Additional Files, 1960-1974

    (Arranged Alphabetically. Correspondence, manuscripts activities and subject files (in one A-Z file) Includes files for many of the topics found in SERIES I. Among the major files are those of the Bureau of Applied Social Research, Columbia University Sociology Department, the Office of Naval Research "Uses Project," UNESCO Seminars and typescripts for Lazarsfeld's articles and papers.)

  • Series IV: Public Opinion Research Files

    (Organized into three groups)

  • Series V: 2001 Addition, 2001

    (This material includes personal and professional files related to Paul F. Lazarsfeld, additional subject files, and files related to specific research projects.)

Arrangement

SERIES I: Arranged correspondence, Boxes 1-3B; Subject Files, Boxes 4-35; Manuscripts by PFL, Boxes 36-39; Miscellaneous Notebooks, Boxes 40-48; Miscellaneous Notes, Boxes 49-51; Methods File-Part 1, Boxes 52-114; Methods File-Part II, Boxes 115-128; Latent Structure Analysis, Boxes 129-140; Activities File, Boxes 141-152; Math and Communication File, Boxes 153-154; Manuscripts by Others, Boxes 155-164; Manuscripts by PFL, Box 165; Personal and Professional Documents & Photographs, Box 166; Printed Material;, Boxes 167-177; Miscellaneous Material, Box 178.

SERIES II: THE ACADEMIC MIND (1958). Miscellaneous materials related to study, Boxes 1-5; Respondent Sheets, 0001-2453, Boxes 6-8; Unsorted Questionnaires, Boxes 9-12; Questionnaires, 0001-2453, Boxes 13-90.

SERIES III: ADDITIONAL SUBJECT FILES, 1960-1974 Arranged alphabetically. These files contain those for the Bureau of Applied Social Research; Columbia University. Sociology Dept.; Office of Naval Research; UNESCO Seminars; and PFL articles and papers, Boxes 1-11.

SERIES IV: PUBLIC OPINION RESEARCH FILES: organized into 4 groups. Group I-Subject files (Personal names arranged alphabetically), Box 1-2; Group II-Classified files (Genre headings, personal names, geographical headings, etc.), Box 3-4; Group 3-Irrelevant files (Arranged numerically), Box 5-6.

SERIES V: 2001 ADDITION: This addition contains additional subject files, research project files, and personal and professional files related to the activities of Paul F. Lazarsfeld (14 boxes).

Using the Collection

Other Finding Aids

Index of 8,000 cards serves as a guide to part one of the methods files.

Restrictions on Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

Unique time-based media items have been reformatted and are available onsite via links in the container list. Commercial materials are not routinely digitized.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Paul J. Lazarsfeld Papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Related Materials

A data set related to the Academic Mind is available via Research Data Services: http://www.columbia.edu/acis/eds/holdings/1079/

The University of Vienna holds a Paul Lazarsfeld Archive (https://www.soz.univie.ac.at/en/about-us/lazarsfeld-archive/).

Accruals

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Existence and Location of Copies

Theodor W. Adorno "Memorandum: Music in Radio" Princeton Radio Research Project, 1938 in Box 26 is also available on microfilm (MN# 7970-1)

Ownership and Custodial History

Transferred from the Bureau of Applied Social Research, 1977 & 1988.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Source of acquisition--Lazarsfeld, Paul F. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--1969. Accession number--M-69.

Papers: Source of acquisition--Gollin, Albert E. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--11/30/90. Accession number--M-90-1130.

Gift of Paul F. Lazarsfeld, 1969.

Gift of Mrs Paul F. Lazarsfeld, 1978 & 1979.

Gift of Albert E. Gollin, 1990.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Cataloged Christina Hilton Fenn 07/--/89.

Papers Processed RL 03/25/91.

Revision Description

2009-06-26 File created.

2014-03-18 XML document instance created by Catherine C. Ricciardi

2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.

2021-05-21 Broke out Series II boxes. kws

Biographical / Historical

Paul Felix Lazarsfeld (1901-1976) was a professor of sociology at Columbia University, 1940-1976.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Genre/Form
Addresses CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Articles CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Audiotapes CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Bibliographies CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Budgets CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Bylaws (administrative records) CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Lectures CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Lists (document genres) CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Memorandums CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Notebooks CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Notes (documents) CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Photographic prints CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Photographs CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Questionnaires CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Reports CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Speeches (documents) CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Tables CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Testimonies CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Videotapes CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Name
American Civil Liberties Union CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Berelson, Bernard, 1912-1979 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
College Entrance Examinations Board CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Columbia University -- Faculty CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Columbia University. Bureau of Applied Social Research CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Columbia University. Office of Radio Research CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Harvard University. Graduate School of Business Administration CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Lynd, Robert, 1879-1949 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Merton, Robert King, 1910-2003 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Stanton, Frank CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Unesco CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Place
United States -- Politics and government -- 1945-1953 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
United States -- Social conditions CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Subject
Authors, American CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
College teachers CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Communism -- United States CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Computers -- Study and teaching CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Planning Project for Advanced Training in Social Research CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Princeton University -- Office of Radio Research CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Psychology -- Study and teaching CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Social problems CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Sociologists CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Sociology -- Study and teaching CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Statistics -- Study and teaching CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID