This finding aid is made available for public use following the Universal 1.0 Public Domain Dedication Creative Commons designation.
All administrative records of the University are restricted for 25 years from the date of creation.
The following box is located off-site: Box 1. 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.
No additions are expected.
This collection is arranged in three series.
In 1894 Franklin H. Giddings became the first professor of sociology at Columbia University. The department grew in scope and depth in between World Wars with Robert S. Lynd (1931-1942) and Robert MacIver (1929-1950). In 1941 both Robert Merton and Paul Lazarsfeld joined the department and their collaboration extended into the 1970s. They helped the department play a leading role in the national growth of sociology and the other social sciences after World War II.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Department of Sociology Records; Box and Folder (if known); University Archives, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Libraries.
This collection was processed by Joanna Rios and Jessica Liston (CC 2020). Finding aid written by Joanna Rios in February 2019.
Bureau of Applied Social Research Records, 1944-1976 (MS#0166); Paul Felix Lazarsfeld Papers [ca. 1930]-1976. (MS#0753).
This collection consists of the administrative records of the Department of Sociology such as departmental meeting minutes and correspondence. Included are a number of publications from Paul Felix Lazarsfeld's interest in quantifying methodologies for social research. There are also two boxes of index cards kept by department with information about former graduate students.
Reproductions 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.
This series contains the minutes of the department's regular monthly (and sometimes luncheon) meetings. There is a selection of the Bureau of Applied Social Research (BASR) newsletters and other announcement sent to the department's main office for reference. The department was reviewed by the Committee on Instruction of the Graduate Faculty of Political Science and included in this series are copies of draft and final reports. Finally, there is a small selection of correspondence about graduate student progress and placement information from 1998.
(Regular monthly meetings)
(Newsletter of the Bureau of Applied Social Research)
(Includes BASR project numbers, BASR library news, and list of unpublished reports.)
(Includes information about the 1960 graduate students, the placement for 1992-1997 graduates, and the other information about students)
This series contains a number of dittoed publications that belonged to Paul Felix Lazarsfeld. The publications relate to the work on research methodology and qualitative and quantitative analysis of social research data.
(Documents for the Seminar on Concepts and Indices in the Social Sciences; 2 copies)
(Memo from Paul F. Lazasfeld to Victor Hunt. Includes "Some Theories of Structor Algebra: Notes on Extensions of Matrix Algebra Necessary for Latent Structure Analysis.")
Graduate students enrolled in sociology classes were asked to complete an information card, which was kept by the department. The information collected on the cards varies (the template changes over the years) but for the most part, the card includes information about the student's background, academic record, research interests, and future plans. The cards were updated by the office staff and include information about the students' lives after they left Columbia. The cards related to students from 1909 to 1916 and then after a gap, the cards resume with students in 1932. The cards from the 1940s and 1950s may include a copy of the student's registration photograph. Cards are organized alphabetically by the student's last name.