Robert K. Merton papers, 1928-2003, bulk 1943-2001

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Series VI: Studies and Projects, 1935-1997

This series provides a framework for understanding key sociological studies and projects conducted by Merton in the mid-twentieth century. Project documentation includes analyses of publications, general surveys, and proposed project topics. Study materials, which comprise the bulk of the series, cover Merton's early sociological pursuits, mainly while he was involved with the Bureau of Applied Social Research at Columbia University. Of note are original interviews, questionnaires, and journals of study participants, which provide an unfiltered look at American social thought and attitude regarding social and cultural issues, education, and careers. These are particularly evidenced in the Ethnic Opinionnaires completed in the 1940s. The records also reflect the evolution of Merton's studies into larger bodies of work, such as publications and conferences. This series is particularly important as it illuminates early social research methodology. A good portion of the records include notes, proposals for funding, drafts of questionnaires, and memoranda related to execution of studies. The studies were also used in Merton's courses and seminars at Columbia University as a means of teaching sociology students about research practices.

Major studies reflected in Series VI include the Housing study, the Manhattanville project, the Expert study, the study of Medical Education and the Eisenhower mail study. The Housing study analyzed a mixed race public housing community and Merton used these findings to examine social concepts, such as friendship, from a sociological perspective. Several publications derived from the study, most notably Patterns of Social Life: Explorations in the Sociology of Housing, are represented in the series. The Manhattanville project was conducted in the early 1950s and records consist of extensive interviews with members of the Manhattanville neighborhood in New York. These interviews were used to determine the community's occupational aspirations and success models. This study relied heavily on participant interviews and observation and detailed transcripts and field reports are contained here. The Expert study focused on several separate case studies to understand the utilization of social sciences and scientists in business and government. The study evolved into several published works, which are represented in the series. The Sociological Study of Medical Education records include interviews and journals from students in medical programs at Cornell, University of Pennsylvania and Western Reserve. Material also includes codebooks, correspondence, and memoranda related to the study. Of note is a folder titled: 'Analysis of Material for Concept Formation.' These are items from the study compiled by Merton many years later and examined for early usage of concepts and phrases, such as role model. Additional material regarding publications from this study are located in Subseries VII.3. The Eisenhower mail study was an attempt by Merton, Joan Goldhamer, and other Bureau of Applied Social Research affiliates to analyze approximately 20,000 letters, postcards and telegrams received by General Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1948 urging him to become candidate for the presidency of the United States. Midway through the project, Eisenhower's team asked the Bureau to abandon the study, giving no explanation. In 1998 Joan Goldhamer published a follow up article entitled "General Eisenhower in academe: A clash of perspectives and a study suppressed." Contained in this series are unpublished documents related to the original mail study, including transcripts of a meeting between Merton and Eisenhower, memoranda, correspondence, and initial drafts. Items pertaining to the revival of the study include correspondence and Goldhamer's drafts containing Merton's edits.

Series VI is arranged alphabetically by name of study or project



Box 196 Folder 5 Adlai Stevenson Mass Mail Project (aborted), 1953-1954



Box 352 Folder 1 American Sociological Review Analysis, circa, 1965



Box 196 Folder 6 Bell Telephone Study, 1948-1956


Box 196 Folder 7-9 Center for the Social Sciences--American Author Surveys, 1980, (3 Folders)



Box 197 Folder 1-6 Center for the Social Sciences--American Author Surveys, 1980, (6 Folders)



Box 198 Folder 1-6 Center for the Social Sciences--American Author Surveys, 1980, (6 Folders)



Box 199 Folder 1-2 Center for the Social Sciences--American Author Surveys, 1980, (2 Folders)


Box 199 Folder 3 Conditions Attendant on the Closing of Intake by Transient Bureaus, 1935


Dictionary of National Biography Analyses



Box 352 Folder 2-4 General, 1958, (3 Folders)


Box 352 Folder 5 Philosophical Transactions, undated


Box 352 Folder 6 Dictionary of Urban Data Project, 1946



Box 199 Folder 4 Edward Condon Study--"Trial by Newspaper,", 1949


Eisenhower Mail Study


Box 199 Folder 5 Code, 1948


Box 199 Folder 6 Conversation with Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1949


Correspondence


Box 199 Folder 7 IBM, 1949


Box 199 Folder 8-10 and Memoranda, 1948-1950, (3 Folders)


Box 199 Folder 11 Drafts, 1949



Box 200 Folder 1 Drafts, 1949


Revival of Study


Box 200 Folder 3-4 Correspondence, 1969, 1981-1993, 1969, 1981-1993, (2 Folders)


"General Eisenhower in Academe: A Clash of Perspectives and a Study Suppressed" by Joan Goldhamer


Box 200 Folder 5 Correspondence, 1995-1997


Box 200 Folder 6-7 Drafts and Edits, 1985-1996, (2 Folders)


Box 200 Folder 8 Notes, 1992


Box 200 Folder 9-10 Research Materials, 1982-1992, (2 Folders)


Box 200 Folder 2 Summary and Digest, 1949


Ethnic Opinionnaires



Box 201 Folder 1-3 Completed Surveys, circa, 1938, (3 Folders)


Box 201 Folder 4 "Facts and Factitiousness in Ethnic Opinionnaires,", 1940-1953


Box 201 Folder 5-7 Questionnaires and Effect on Research, 1943, (3 Folders)


Box 201 Folder 8 Rapport in Use of Opinionnaire, 1943, undated, 1943, undated


Expert Study


Box 201 Folder 9-10 General, 1947-1948, (2 Folders)


AT&T


Box 201 Folder 11-12 General, 1949, (2 Folders)


Box 201 Folder 13 "Applied Social Research and Business decisions: A Preliminary Case Report,", 1951


Box 201 Folder 14 Correspondence, 1949-1956



Box 202 Folder 1 Correspondence, 1949-1956


Box 202 Folder 2 Criteria, 1949


Box 202 Folder 3 Employee Survey, 1948


Box 202 Folder 4 Interviews with Staff, 1946-1949


Box 202 Folder 5 Presentation of Research Findings, 1950


Box 202 Folder 6 Smith, C.T., 1955


Box 202 Folder 7-9 Sociology Workshop, 1964-1970, (3 Folders)


Box 202 Folder 10 "Some Factors Affecting the Initiation of Applied Social Research," circa, 1940s



Box 203 Folder 1-8 The Role of Social Research in Business Administration: A Case Study Based Primarily Upon the 1930-1949 Experience of the Opinion Research Section of the Chief Statistician's Division of AT&T (with E.C. Devereux, Jr.)--Drafts and Working Papers, circa, 1950s, (8 Folders)



Box 204 Folder 1 The Role of Social Research in Business Administration: A Case Study Based Primarily Upon the 1930-1949 Experience of the Opinion Research Section of the Chief Statistician's Division of AT&T (with E.C. Devereux, Jr.)--Drafts and Working Papers, circa, 1950s


Box 204 Folder 2-3 Background Research Material, circa, 1940s, (2 Folders)


Box 204 Folder 4 Budget, 1949-1950


Carnegie Corporation


Box 204 Folder 5 Correspondence and Reports, 1948-1953


Box 204 Folder 6 Grant, 1948-1949


Box 204 Folder 7 Conference on the Expert and Applied Social Science, 1948


Correspondence


Box 204 Folder 8 A, 1948-1949


Box 204 Folder 9 B, 1950


Box 204 Folder 10 C, 1946-1948


Box 204 Folder 11 D-F, 1949-1951


Box 204 Folder 12 Hatt, Paul, 1948-1949


Box 204 Folder 13 J-M, 1948-1949


Box 204 Folder 14 P, 1948-1949


Box 204 Folder 15 R-Z, 1948-1949


Box 204 Folder 16-18 "The Expert in Applied Social Science,", 1943-1948, (3 Folders)



Box 205 Folder 1 "The Expert in Applied Social Science,", 1943-1948


Box 205 Folder 2 Form Letters, 1948-1949


Box 205 Folder 3 Index of Material, 1948


Box 205 Folder 4 Interview--Glock, Charles, 1948


Box 205 Folder 5 Market Research Council, 1949


Box 205 Folder 6 Meeting Notes, 1948


Memoranda


Box 205 Folder 7-10 General, 1948-1949, (4 Folders)


Box 205 Folder 11 Devereux, E.C., 1949


Box 205 Folder 12 Hatt, Paul, 1948


Office of War Information


Box 205 Folder 13-14 Anti-Inflation Study, 1942-1944, (2 Folders)


Box 205 Folder 15 Interviews--Tentative Outline, 1948


Box 205 Folder 16 Summary Memoranda, 1948



Box 206 Folder 1 Panel of Experts, 1950-1951


Box 206 Folder 2 Panel of Research Directors, 1951


Public Opinion Polls


Box 206 Folder 3 American Association of Public Opinion Research, 1949


Box 206 Folder 4 Background Research Material, 1948


Box 206 Folder 7 Editor Poll, 1948-1949


Box 206 Folder 5-6 "Election Polling Forecasts and Public Images of Social Science"--Notes and Drafts,, 1949, (2 Folders)


Box 206 Folder 8 Memoranda, 1947


Box 206 Folder 9-11 Replies from Editors, 1948-1949, (3 Folders)



Box 207 Folder 1 Puerto Rican Population, 1948-1949


Box 207 Folder 2 Requests, 1948-1953


Box 207 Folder 3 Social Science Research Council, 1947


Box 207 Folder 4 Transcription, 1949


Box 207 Folder 5 Utilization of Applied Social Research, 1949


Box 207 Folder 6 Finance Attitude Study, 1948



Box 352 Folder 7-9 Handbook on the Drafting of Sociological Studies, 1946-1971, (3 Folders)


Box 352 Folder 10 Harvard Business School Study, 1961-1962



Box 207 Folder 7 Hours Spent on Community Activity in Decatur, undated


Housing Study


Box 207 Folder 8 General, 1945-1954



Box 352 Folder 11 General, undated


Addison Terrace



Box 207 Folder 9 Card Design, 1953, undated, 1953, undated


Box 207 Folder 10-11 Code Book, 1947, (2 Folders)


Box 207 Folder 12 "The Analysis of Community Researchers,", 1947


Box 207 Folder 13 Charts, undated


Box 207 Folder 14 Citizens' Housing Council of New York, Inc., 1946-1950


Box 207 Folder 15 Commission on Race and Housing, 1956-1957


Box 207 Folder 16-17 Community Ethos, undated, 1950, (2 Folders)


Correspondence


Box 207 Folder 18 General, 1947


Box 207 Folder 19 Wurster, Catherine Bauer, 1948-1951


Craftown


Box 207 Folder 20 and Hilltown--Detailed Descriptions, circa, 1947



Box 208 Folder 1-5 and Winfield--Memoranda and Drafts, 1945-1946, (5 Folders)


Box 208 Folder 6 File Index, undated


Friendship


Box 208 Folder 7-9 General, circa, 1950s, (3 Folders)


Box 208 Folder 10 Background Research, undated


Box 208 Folder 11 Card Design, undated



Box 209 Folder 1 Cross Currents, 1952-1966


Box 209 Folder 2 Drafts, 1945


Box 209 Folder 3 Memoranda, 1944-1952


Box 209 Folder 4-5 Tables and Notes, 1952-1955, (2 Folders)


Box 209 Folder 6 Interim Report, 1946


Box 209 Folder 7 Isolates Tables, undated


Lavanburg Foundation


Box 209 Folder 8 Budget, 1945-1947


Box 209 Folder 9-10 Correspondence, 1944-1961, (2 Folders)



Box 210 Folder 1 Report, 1949


Notes


Box 210 Folder 2-3 General, circa, 1945, (2 Folders)


Box 210 Folder 4 Race Relations, 1949


Patterns of Social Life: Explorations in the Sociology of Housing (with Patricia S. West and Marie Jahoda)


Box 210 Folder 5-9 Annotated Typescript, 1948, (5 Folders)



Box 211 Folder 1-9 Annotated Typescript, 1948, (9 Folders)



Box 212 Folder 1-2 Annotated Typescript, 1948, (2 Folders)



Box 352 Folder 12 Correspondence and Edits, 1968-1987


Drafts



Box 212 Folder 3-10 General, 1946-1949, undated, 1946-1949, undated, (8 Folders)



Box 213 Folder 1-10 General, 1946-1949, undated, 1946-1949, undated, (10 Folders)



Box 214 Folder 1-7 General, 1946-1949, undated, 1946-1949, undated, (7 Folders)


Box 214 Folder 8 and Memoranda, undated



Box 215 Folder 1 and Memoranda, undated


Box 215 Folder 2 Table of Contents, undated


Box 215 Folder 3 Reference Material, 1939-1943


Box 215 Folder 4 Requests for Copies, 1961-1978


Box 215 Folder 5 "Selected Problems of Field Work in the Planned Community,", 1946


Box 215 Folder 6-7 "Social Fictions and Social Facts: The Dynamics of Race Relations in Hilltown,", 1949, (2 Folders)


Box 215 Folder 8 "The Social Psychology of Housing,", 1948


Box 215 Folder 9-11 Training Guide, undated, (3 Folders)



Box 216 Folder 1-2 Training Guide, undated, (2 Folders)


Winfield


Box 216 Folder 3 General, 1945


Box 216 Folder 4 Card Design, undated


Box 216 Folder 5-9 Code Book, 1945-1946, (5 Folders)


Box 216 Folder 10 Questionnaires, 1945-1946


Box 216 Folder 11 Human Relations Area Files, Inc.--Cross Cultural Survey, 1948-1953



Box 217 Folder 1 Kikuchi Diary Study, 1947-1950


Box 217 Folder 2 LIFE Magazine Ubiquity Study, 1947-1948


Manhattanville Project


Box 217 Folder 3-5 General, 1946-1950, (3 Folders)



Box 237 Folder 1 Audio Recording--Hogrefe, 1949 (Audograph Electronic Disc), 1949



Box 217 Folder 6 Data Analysis by Students, 1950


Interviews and Field Observations



Box 218 Sections 1, 2, and 4, 1949-1950 (3 Bound Volumes), 1949-1950



Box 219 Section 3, 1949-1950 (Bound Volume), 1949-1950



Box 217 Folder 7-8 Participant Observation, 1950, (2 Folders)



Box 220 Folder 1 National Opinion Research Center--Correspondence and Agreements, 1948-1952


Box 220 Folder 2 New Orleans Elite--Preliminary Data, 1940


Box 220 Folder 3-4 New York Television Study, 1952-1956, (2 Folders)


Box 220 Folder 5-6 New York Time Budget Study, 1945-1946, (2 Folders)



Box 148 Folder 1 New York Time Budget Study, 1944


Office of Radio Research--Time Magazine Readership and the Influence Structure of Dover New Jersey



Box 220 Folder 7-8 Notes, Drafts and Correspondence, 1943-1956, (2 Folders)


Box 220 Folder 9-10 Reports, 1943, (2 Folders)


Proposed


Box 220 Folder 11 Comparative Study of Social Mobility, Its Causes and Consequences, 1954



Box 221 Folder 1 Judicial Personnel, 1947


Box 221 Folder 2 Negro Medical Students, 1969


Box 221 Folder 3 Public Reaction to Sonic Booms--Air Force Office of Scientific Research,, 1965


Box 221 Folder 4 Sociology of Complex Organizations, 1958


Box 221 Folder 5 Radio Program Content Analysis, 1943


Sociological Study of Medical Education


Box 221 Folder 6-9 General, 1951-1961, (4 Folders)


Box 221 Folder 10-11 Analysis of Material for Concept Formation, 1951-1957, (2 Folders)



Box 222 Folder 1 Association of American Medical Colleges Conference, 1957-1958


Box 222 Folder 2 Background Material on Schools, 1952-1959


Code Books


Box 222 Folder 3-7 General, undated, 1956-1961, (5 Folders)


Box 222 Folder 8-11 Cornell University Medical College, 1952-1956, undated, 1952-1956, undated, (4 Folders)



Box 223 Folder 1-10 Cornell University Medical College, 1952-1956, undated (10 Folders, 1952-1956, undated



Box 224 Folder 1 Corrections, 1952-1957


Box 224 Folder 2 Inventory, 1954-1955


Box 224 Folder 3-10 University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 1953-1955, (8 Folders)



Box 225 Folder 1-6 Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 1953-1954, (6 Folders)


Box 225 Folder 7 Committee on Medical Sociology, 1955


Comparative Study of the Internship and Residency


Box 225 Folder 9 Budget and Finance, 1952-1961


Box 225 Folder 10 Correspondence, 1959-1962


Box 225 Folder 11 "The Internship: An Exploratory Analysis by Theresa Falaguerra,", 1957



Box 226 Folder 1-3 Proposal, 1958, (3 Folders)


Box 226 Folder 4 Seminar Notes, 1957-1958



Box 225 Folder 8 Concept of Socialization, undated


Correspondence



Box 226 Folder 5 General, 1955


Box 226 Folder 6 American Medical Association, 1958


Box 226 Folder 7 Association of American Medical Colleges, 1961-1963


Box 226 Folder 8 Boek, Walter, 1958


Box 226 Folder 9 Christie, Richard, 1956-1960


Box 226 Folder 10-11 The Commonwealth Fund, 1950-1959, (2 Folders)


Box 226 Folder 12 Cornell University, 1952-1960


Box 226 Folder 13 Fellowships, 1956-1957


Box 226 Folder 14 Inquiries, 1952-1955



Box 227 Folder 1-2 Nasatir, David, 1954-1960, (2 Folders)


University of Pennsylvania


Box 227 Folder 3 General, 1953-1958


Box 227 Folder 4 Mitchell, John McK. (Dean), 1953-1956


Box 227 Folder 5 Western Reserve University, 1952-1958


Box 227 Folder 6 Deferred Gratification, undated


Box 227 Folder 7-8 Evaluation of the Comprehensive Care and Teaching Program (CCTP) at Cornell University,, 1952-1959, (2 Folders)


Box 227 Folder 9 Evaluation Meeting, 1954


Box 227 Folder 10 Interim Reports--Western Reserve University, 1956


Box 227 Folder 11 Interviews and Surveys, 1954, undated, 1954, undated



Box 228 Folder 1-2 Master File, 1954, (2 Folders)


Memoranda


Box 228 Folder 3 Coleman, James, undated


Box 228 Folder 4 The Commonwealth Fund, 1956


Box 228 Folder 5 Cornell University, 1953-1958


Box 228 Folder 6 Early, 1952-1957


Monograph


Box 228 Folder 7 Group Meeting, 1953-1954


Box 228 Folder 8 Kass, Babette, undated


Box 228 Folder 9 Martin, William, 1956


Box 228 Folder 10 Nicholls, William, 1958


Box 228 Folder 11 Objectives of Medical Education, 1952-1953


Box 228 Folder 12 Planning, 1953


Box 228 Folder 13 Style Guidelines, undated


Notes


Box 228 Folder 14 and Data, 1952-1955


Box 228 Folder 15 and Drafts--Medical Attitudes and Values, undated


Box 228 Folder 16 Partial Data Summaries, circa, 1958



Box 229 Folder 1-3 Preliminary Report--Cornell University, 1953, (3 Folders)


Box 229 Folder 4 "Professional Education and Training,", undated


Box 229 Folder 5 Project Inventory--Western Reserve University, 1956-1960


Project Planning


Box 229 Folder 6 General, 1953-1954


Box 229 Folder 7 University of Pennsylvania, 1954


Proposals


Box 229 Folder 8-11 General, 1952-1957, (4 Folders)



Box 230 Folder 1 Comments, 1953


Box 230 Folder 2 Notes and Drafts, 1954


Publications


Box 230 Folder 3 Planning, 1954-1955


Box 230 Folder 4-5 "Studies in Sociology of Medical Education,", 1955-1956, (2 Folders)


Questionnaires


Box 230 Folder 6-7 Cornell University, 1952, (2 Folders)


Box 230 Folder 8 National Opinion Research Center, 1947-1948


Box 230 Folder 9 University of Pennsylvania, 1953-1954


Box 230 Folder 10 Western Reserve University, undated


Reports


Box 230 Folder 11 Drafts--Goss, Mary, 1952-1953


Box 230 Folder 12 Progress, 1956


Box 230 Folder 13 Western Reserve University, 1954


Requests



Box 231 Folder 1 Future Monographs, 1957-1958


Box 231 Folder 2 Lectures and Papers, 1955-1961


Box 231 Folder 3 Research Positions, 1953-1956


Box 231 Folder 4 Use of Data, 1952-1960


Box 231 Folder 5 Research Clippings, 1952-1956


Box 231 Folder 6-7 Sample of Findings, 1955, (2 Folders)


Box 231 Folder 8 Scheduled Free Time, 1955-1957


Seminar (Soc #319/320)


Box 231 Folder 9-10 General, 1951-1958, (2 Folders)



Box 232 Folder 1-5 General, 1951-1958, (5 Folders)


Box 232 Folder 6 Minutes, 1954-1955


Box 232 Folder 7 Student Projects, 1953


Box 232 Folder 8-9 Sociological Calendar of the First Year of Medical School, 1956-1958, (2 Folders)


Student Journals and Interviews



Box 233 Folder 1-4 General, 1952-1955, (4 Folders)


Box 233 Folder 5 Balsam, Alan, 1955


Box 233 Folder 6-7 Bloom, Samuel, 1954-1955, (2 Folders)


Box 233 Folder 8 Brooks, Dana, 1953-1954



Box 234 Folder 1-3 Brooks, Dana, 1953-1954, (3 Folders)


Box 234 Folder 4 Burns, Donald, 1953-1954


Box 234 Folder 5-6 McLellan, Lowell, 1953-1954, (2 Folders)


Box 234 Folder 7 Menninger, Walter, 1953-1957



Box 235 Folder 1-6 Menninger, Walter, 1953-1957, (6 Folders)



Box 236 Folder 1 Menninger, Walter, 1953-1957


Box 236 Folder 2 Rosenbach, Ronald, 1953-1954


Box 236 Folder 3 Weinberg, Saul, 1955


Box 236 Folder 4 Theoretical Ideas, 1952-1957


Working Papers


Box 236 Folder 5 General, 1956-1957


Box 236 Folder 6 Bloom, Samuel, 1955


Box 236 Folder 7 Glaser, William, 1958


Box 236 Folder 8 Glaser, William, and Emery, Jane, 1958


Box 236 Folder 9 Kendall, Patricia L., undated


Box 236 Folder 10-11 Levine, Gene, 1957, (2 Folders)



Box 409 Folder 9 Edward Condon Study--"Trial by Newspaper," 1949, 1981-1988, 1949, 1981-1988


Box 409 Folder 10 Eisenhower Mail Study-- Revival of Study, 1985-1992


Box 409 Folder 11 Hastings-on-Hudson Community Affairs--Pinecrest Drive: An Interracial Stable Neighborhood, 1952-1955, 1985, 1952-1955, 1985



Box 495 Folder 1 Analysis for FBI Unabom Task Force, 1995


Box 495 Folder 2 Housing Study--Craftown Follow Up Study, 1977