Bureau of Applied Social Research
Encyclopedia
The Bureau of Applied Social Research was a social research institute at Columbia University
which specialised in mass communications research. It grew out of the Radio Research Project
at Princeton University
, beginning in 1937. The Bureau's first director was Austrian
sociologist Paul Lazarsfeld
. The project took on permanent form as the Office of Radio Research, moving to Columbia in 1939. It was renamed the 'Bureau of Applied Social Research' in 1944.
The bureau was closed in 1977, when its archives were merged into Columbia's Center for the Social Sciences which in turn became part of the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy
in 1999, which in turn became part of the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy
in 2001.
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
which specialised in mass communications research. It grew out of the Radio Research Project
Radio Project
The Radio Project was a social research project funded by the Rockefeller Foundation to look into the effects of mass media on society.In 1937, the Rockefeller Foundation started funding research to find the effects of new forms of mass media on society, especially radio...
at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, beginning in 1937. The Bureau's first director was Austrian
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
sociologist Paul Lazarsfeld
Paul Lazarsfeld
Paul Felix Lazarsfeld was one of the major figures in 20th-century American sociology. The founder of Columbia University's Bureau of Applied Social Research, he exerted a tremendous influence over the techniques and the organization of social research...
. The project took on permanent form as the Office of Radio Research, moving to Columbia in 1939. It was renamed the 'Bureau of Applied Social Research' in 1944.
The bureau was closed in 1977, when its archives were merged into Columbia's Center for the Social Sciences which in turn became part of the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy
Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy
The Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy is the research arm of the social sciences at Columbia University. ISERP works to produce pioneering social science research and to shape public policy by integrating knowledge and methods across the social scientific disciplines...
in 1999, which in turn became part of the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy
Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy
The Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy is the research arm of the social sciences at Columbia University. ISERP works to produce pioneering social science research and to shape public policy by integrating knowledge and methods across the social scientific disciplines...
in 2001.