The Rensis Likert Papers document his work as one of the pioneers of survey research, first with the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, then with the Office of War Information, Office of Strategic Bombing Surveys and finally at the University of Michigan's Survey Research Center and Institute for Social Research. The papers include biographical information on Likert; transcripts of oral history interviews with Likert; reports, background information, correspondence relating to various survey projects.
The Likert papers were received and initially processed in four accessions in 1975, 1982,1990 and 1995. Material in later accessions sometimes continued or complemented records series in prior accessions. The papers are boxed in an order that reflects the dates the accessions individual accessions were received. In this finding aid the disparate parts of series received in multiple accessions have been together to reflect the intellectual arrangement of the collection. As a result, the box-folder sequence in he contents listing are not always consecutive.
The materials in the 1975 accession (boxes 1-20) of the Rensis Likert Papers cover the period of 1939 to 1953 and largely concern Likert's work at the Bureau of Agricultural Economics and the Office of War Information during World War II and his subsequent work in the early development of the Survey Research Center.
In 1982 the family of Rensis Likert donated an additional three feet (boxes 21-23) of materials. Notable items in this accession concern Likert's work as assistant secretary and treasurer of the Psychological Corporation (1934-1935); consultant to the Newell-Emmett Company (1935); survey researcher with the Morale Division of the United States Strategic Bombing Survey unit (ca. 1944-1946); and activities with other professional organizations (ca. 1938-1949)
The third accession of the Likert papers (box 24-29) came from the library of the Institute of Social Research of the University of Michigan. The files pertain to all phases of Likert's professional career, and thus the researcher should use these papers in conjunction with the materials in the previous accessions. The final accession (box 29) was received form several sources.
Rensis Likert was born August 5, 1903 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He received his B.A. in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan in 1926, and his Ph.D. in social psychology from Columbia University in 1932. At Columbia, Likert worked under Gardner Murphy and first did work in measuring attitudes. After a period as an instructor of psychology and later assistant professor at New York University, Likert became director of research for the Life Insurance Agency Management Association of Hartford, Connecticut, working in this capacity from December 1935 to September 1939.
In September 1939, following a reorganization of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Likert was selected to administer the Division of Program Surveys in the Bureau of Agricultural Economics (BAE), serving from 1939 to October 1946. His overall responsibility was the development of more scientific opinion surveys, and in this capacity, he and his staff conducted interviews which were at first concerned with problems of agricultural production and management, but which broadened out with World War II into studies of citizen morale and problems of the home front. While with BAE, Likert also conducted specialized surveys for the Office of War Information (OWI), the U.S. Department of Treasury, and the Federal Reserve Board. He also served during the latter stages of World War II as director of the Morale Division of the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey, serving from November 1944 to June 1946.
With the conclusion of the war and a decline in government support, Likert began looking for a university setting where he and his staff could continue to do their research and conduct surveys on theoretical and social problems. The University of Michigan was selected, and on July 1, 1946, the Survey Research Center was established. In 1948 the Research Center for Group Dynamics left M.I.T. to join the University of Michigan. The combined organization became known as the Institute for Social Research (ISR). Likert served as director of the Survey Research Center from its founding in 1946 until he assumed the directorship of the new Institute for Social Research. He remained as director of ISR until his retirement in 1970.
In 1971, Likert formed a private consulting firm, Rensis Likert Associates, Inc. (RLA). The firm located its headquarters in Ann Arbor and established regional offices across the nation. RLA studied management styles and management systems in conjunction with survey research. The success of the firm stemmed from its utilization of Likert's Systems 1-4, which recognized and identified patterns of management, aiding businesses in achieving the most beneficial system of management.
