Institute for Social Research (University of Michigan) records, 1936-2017 (scattered) (majority within 1946-2010)

Summary

Creator:

University of Michigan. Institute for Social Research.

Abstract:

The Institute for Social Research (ISR), an interdisciplinary center for social science research, was created in 1949 when the Research Center for Group Dynamics (founded at Massachusetts Institute of Technology) joined the university's Survey Research Center. ISR houses the Center for Political Studies (CPS), Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), Population Studies Center (PSC), Research Center for Group Dynamics (RCGD), and the Survey Research Center (SRC). Records document the founding and development of ISR and its related centers and programs and include audiovisual materials, minutes, correspondence, topical files, reports, and proposals. Administrative records include governance committees and director's files. Records of the Program for Research on Black Americans (PRBA) consist of grant proposals, survey instruments, focus group transcriptions, correspondence, bulletins, and internal governance records created under the auspices of PRBA and its various projects. Records of the Research Center for Group Dynamics are primarily the papers of director Kurt Lewin, including manuscripts and talks. Survey Research Center records consist largely of proposal and project files, although they also include faculty oral histories. The records of the Population Studies Center consist of lectures from its founder, Dr. Ronald Freedman, while the Center for Political Studies contains one binder of material from the American National Election Survey conducted in 1980.

Extent:

143.8 linear feet (in 146 boxes)
54.83 GB (online)

Language:

English

Call Number:

8941 Bimu 2

Authors:

Finding aid prepared by: Anne Frantilla, 1998; Nicco Pandolfi in February 2017; Chloe Koscheva-Scissons in March 2017; Elizabeth Hannigan, June 2018; Steven Gentry, May 2020.

Background

Scope and Content:

The Institute for Social Research (ISR) records are dated from 1936-2017 (scattered) and consist of 143.8 linear feet (in 146 boxes) and digital files (online). Materials in this record group include audiovisual material, committee files (which include minutes and agendas), correspondence, directors' files, oral histories, publications, reports, and topical files. These records document the founding and subsequent development of ISR as well as its centers and programs, particularly the Program for Research on Black Americans (PRBA) and the Survey Research Center (SRC). The records also provide an overview of ISR's administration and the evolution of social science survey research methodology.

There are gaps in the records, which can be addressed in part through the papers of Rensis Likert, Angus Campbell, Dorwin P. Cartwright, and Philip E. Converse—all of which are held at the Bentley Historical Library (BHL). When viewed in conjunction with other ISR-related personal papers in the Bentley Historical Library, a rich and detailed picture of the growth of ISR as a center and the social science research discipline emerges.

Biographical / Historical:

Introduction

The Survey Research Center, forerunner of the Institute for Social Research, was established at the University of Michigan in 1946, under the direction of Rensis Likert, as a center for interdisciplinary research in the social sciences. Fifty years after its founding, the Institute for Social Research (ISR) had become the nation's longest-standing laboratory for interdisciplinary research in the social sciences. ISR surveys are a national resource and have set the standard for research design across the country. Findings from ISR studies have contributed to policy and practice on issues ranging from racial prejudice and drug abuse to health, retirement, and welfare. Largely self-supporting through grants and external contracts, ISR has a budget of approximately $80 million.

The Survey Research Center and the Research Center for Group Dynamics

Prior to coming to the University of Michigan, Likert worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture developing a survey facility to provide data on the problems of farmers and their reactions to federal farm policies. During World War II, Likert's survey work expanded to provide data for several federal agencies. Studies focused on public finance, morale, and government policies, among other topics. After the war, Likert and others sought a university setting that would provide a facility for large-scale sample survey research and greater opportunities for teaching and research in the social sciences. The University of Michigan was selected and Likert was appointed as director. Likert brought with him Angus Campbell, George Katona, Charles Cannell, and Leslie Kish. They were later joined by a number of others, including Daniel Katz, Robert Kahn, and James Morgan. Initially skeptical of the establishment of a research institute not closely connected with a teaching department, the executive officers of the university stipulated that the Survey Research Center (SRC) was to operate through outside grants. The university would provide office space and general university services. Those working for the center originally were not eligible for tenure. To promote its interdisciplinary nature, the center was administratively separate from other schools and colleges, and its executive committee was made up of members from a variety of relevant disciplines.

From the outset, Likert and Campbell, working together, provided excellent leadership. Committed to the delegation of authority and group involvement in major decisions, Likert promoted the center's contributions to national life and Campbell provided superior administrative skills. The senior staff met weekly as a group to discuss and decide upon a wide range of issues.

In 1948, the Research Center for Group Dynamics (RCGD)—founded at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in February 1945 by Kurt Lewin—moved to the University of Michigan after Lewin's death in 1947. Dorwin Cartwright continued as the director of RCGD in its new location. In 1949, an umbrella organization for SRC and RCGD was created and named the Institute for Social Research.

Administratively, ISR is composed of several centers, each strongly autonomous in their research and administration. The development, design, administration, and reports of research are center functions. The history of ISR is best understood through each of its research centers. Although the centers have undergone significant change, the core center remains the SRC.

The Survey Research Center (SRC)

Structurally, the SRC consisted of several research programs, as well as four technical sections which were involved in most research projects and conducted their own methodological investigations. The sections included: sampling, field office, coding, and computer support group. Sampling selected national household samples and consulted on sample design and other statistical questions with research from ISR, the university, and other places outside the university. The field office managed the data collection operations of SRC and provided technical assistance to the research staff in preparing data gathering instruments, developing study designs, and analyzing various modes of data collection. The coding section converted the survey data to numeric codes for use in data processing. The computer support group developed and maintained hardware and software for computerized data processing and analysis.

One of the earliest integrated research programs of the SRC was the Economic Behavior Program, which was related to economic decisions made by consumers and businessmen. Initially, under the direction of George Katona who was trained in economics and psychology, the program included annual national surveys undertaken for the Federal Reserve Board from 1946 to 1971. The program also utilized the annual Survey of Consumer Attitudes, which was conducted from the early 1950s several times a year until it became a monthly survey vehicle in 1978. The Panel Study of Income Dynamics was initiated in 1968. A panel study on consumer's debt behavior, it involved interviewing a national sample of 5,000 families to be followed annually over a five-year period. Continuing to the present day, the study has had significant implications for the study of poverty.

A second major sphere of activity within the SRC, initially known as the Human Relations Program and founded in the latter half of the 1940s, focused on leadership, motivation and organizational structure, and effectiveness in formal organizations. Under the direction of Daniel Katz, the program was renamed the Organizational Behavior Program in the late 1950s. It continued through the 1980s and was a national resource for organizational research. New programs in SRC evolved over time. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, members of SRC's Organizational Behavior Program and members of the Research Center for Group Dynamics established the Social Environment and Mental Health program. From 1960 to 1970, research in the program focused on the assessment of stress in work settings and its effects on health. By the 1970s, research in the Social Environment and Mental Health unit focused on job-related transitions, the study of social support as a buffer against the effects of stress, and off-the-job factors that enter into the management of stress. In the late 1980s and 1990s, the program's focus had extended to assessing the development of intervention programs to alleviate stress and adverse mental health consequences, the role of psychosocial factors in the determination and maintenance of health in middle and older age populations, and the source of inequalities in health, especially by race and socioeconomic status. The staff included psychologists, sociologists, and epidemiologists with joint appointments in their departments.

Another major study was the Detroit Area Study (DAS), founded in 1951 by Angus Campbell and Ronald Freedman. Students enrolled in the DAS program simultaneously honed their research and survey competencies while also gathering data relevant to members of Detroit. Initially, DAS was a project within the Survey Research Center and funded entirely by the Ford Foundation. By 1958, the project was funded by the University of Michigan and managed by the university's Department of Sociology. The project was disbanded in 2002, although a successor project—the Detroit Metropolitan Area Communities Studies—was established in 2016 as a project of the Population Studies Center.

A nationwide longitudinal study, "Youth in Transition," was launched in 1965 under the direction of Gerald Bachman to study young men as they entered tenth grade and followed them until five years after most had graduated from high school. The study found that the socioeconomic level of a family had the most pervasive influence on a boy's development of any of the background characteristics measured.

A new program within the Youth and Social Issues program, "Monitoring the Future," was launched in 1975 and would sustain funding through the 1990s. "Monitoring the Future" was originally a five-year series of national surveys to collect data on senior classes and the use of drugs. Eighth and tenth graders were added to the survey in 1991, and in 1992 the survey received an $18 million federal grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The survey has had a major impact on national policies of public health and education—especially regarding the use of drugs, alcohol and tobacco—which have helped set the agenda for national drug control policies.

In 2012, the SRC—in concert with the University of Michigan's Graham Sustainability Institute—launched the Sustainability Cultural Indicators Program. The program focused on sustainability knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes of university community members.

SRC has offered a variety of educational opportunities. SRC organized a summer session in 1948—the Summer Institute in Survey Research Techniques (SRCSI)—that continues to offer graduate-level education on data collection and analysis methods to students from around the world. A special program for training survey sampling statisticians was initiated under the direction of Leslie Kish in the 1960s in conjunction with the summer session. Additionally the Survey Methodology Program (SMP) was established in 1992 within SRC—the program is part of the Michigan Program of Survey Methodology (MPSM) and serves as a survey research and training center. Finally, SRC offers numerous fellowships for students and scholars, such as the Robert Kahn Fellowship for the Scientific Study of Social Issues and the Regula Herzog Young Investigators Fund.

Currently, SRC faculty focus their theory and research on key social topics, which include: aging, life course development, the role of education, fertility and families, retirement, health disparities, poverty, income and wealth, health measures and behaviors, substance abuse, development and evaluation of interventions, and the role of social networks and environment over the life course. These then provide the framework for some of the most cited and influential studies in the world, for example, Health and Retirement Study (HRS), Monitoring the Future, Panel Study of Income Dynamics, University of Michigan Survey of Consumer Attitudes, National Survey of Family Growth, and the Army Study To Assess Risk and Resilience in Service Members. Through its international unit, the SRC also partners with various countries and clients to develop survey data collection and analysis infrastructure.

The Center for Political Studies (CPS)

Another early and continuing interest of the SRC was the study of political attitudes and behavior. The first national election study was conducted after the 1948 election, and the program expanded into other areas of political behavior. This program became the Center for Political Studies (CPS) in 1970, under the direction of Warren Miller. Research expanded to include political socialization of young adults in the mid-1960s, as well as studies of political structures and comparative politics. Between 1948 and 1976, national studies of the American electorate were conducted in 1948, 1952, 1956, and biennially thereafter. These studies—previously known as the Michigan Election Studies Studies—were formalized in 1977 as the National Election Studies (NES) and funded by the National Science Foundation. NES formally established a national resource to sustain and enhance the diversified data that support basic research on voting behavior and public opinion. By the mid-1980s, most of the senior staff had joint appointments in political science. In circa 2005, the National Election Studies were renamed the American National Election Studies (ANES). ANES is currently managed by the University of Michigan and Stanford University.

Currently, CPS emphasizes interdisciplinary research, with scholars holding appointments in the fields of communications, complex systems, history, natural resources, political science, psychology, public policy, social work, and statistics. The center is also very international, with experts in different geographic areas, such as Africa, China, Europe, the Middle East, Russia and Eurasia, and Southeast Asia. Scholars at CPS use a variety of research tools, including advanced computing, datasets, experiments, formal modeling, spatial analysis (Geographic Information Systems/GIS), statistical modeling, and surveys. The center also offers workshops, seminar series, and lectures and staff provide a variety of services in the areas of administration, communication, research development and implementation, and technology.

Over its three-decade history, the CPS has expanded its focus from individual voting behavior to exploring institutions and their effects on policies and individual behavior. The CPS also builds links between comparative, world, and American politics as well as the study of individual behavior and political and economic institutions. The center's other activities include providing a variety of awards and fellowships, assisting countries and clients around the world enhance their social science research capabilities, and working with other fields to address common problems and scientific questions.

The Research Center for Group Dynamics (RCGD)

The original goals of the RCGD were to conduct research on group behavior and on the relationship of the individual to the group, and to apply research findings as solutions to different social problems. Early projects of the RCGD included research on fraternities, communities and schools, and group functioning. Research for the Office of Naval Research was conducted on various aspects of leadership and authority in the 1950s. Research on the formal structure of groups received attention in the 1960s. In subsequent decades, research included group processes, interpersonal coping and control, and social cognition. By the mid-1980s, the major focus within the RCGD was the study of social cognition, the processes whereby individuals deal with information about themselves and others, and how such information influences social behavior. During this period, almost the entire research staff had joint appointments in the psychology department, specifically social psychology. Other projects have included the Program for Research on Black Americans (PRBA), Mexican Exposures (MEXPOS), Aggression Research Program, and Promoting Community Conversations About Research to End Suicide (PC CARES). The center is also known for holding the Group Dynamics Seminar series, which was started by RCGD founder Kurt Lewin in the 1920s.

The RCGD's overarching goals are not much different than they were when the center was established at MIT. Researchers continue to highlight the importance of "theory-driven" social science research, one that is supported by a human and physical environment. However, the RCGD has grown increasingly cross-disciplinary, with its faculty including psychologists specializing in various backgrounds, anthropologists, economists, neuroscientists, and communication specialists. RCGD has two labs for researchers to use—the Robert B. Zajonc Experimental Lab and U-M HomeLab—and provides financial awards to students via funds like the Robert B. Zajonc Scholars Fund as well as the Eugene and Martha Burnstein University of Warsaw Social Science Scholars Exchange Fund.

The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)

The Inter-university Consortium for Political Research (ICPR) was established by Warren Miller in 1962, in cooperation with twenty-one other universities. Its goal was to work toward external collaboration in research on political behavior. The aims of the Consortium included joint planning of new surveys, data curation, and sharing of the common pool of data, as well as coordinating analysis plans to minimize duplication of effort and encourage exchange of current theory and results. Initially a program of the Survey Research Center, ICPR was housed within CPS in 1970 after the latter's foundation, although decisions about acquisitions are made by the ICPR Board. In 1975, the name was changed to Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), which reflected its increasingly multidisciplinary nature. In the 1990s, ICPSR separated from CPS and became an independent center within the Institute for Social Research. In 1995, ICPSR Director Richard Rockwell—along with several others—began an effort to create an internationally recognized social science research standard. The standard was produced and revised in the following years. In 2003, the Data Documentation Initiative (DDI) Alliance was founded to manage and advocate for the standard.

Since 1963, ICPSR has maintained an annual summer training program in methods of quantitative political and social research, the Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research. Courses carry university credit and attract hundreds of research scholars and students each year.

By 2018, the ICPSR had 759 member institutions, a staff of 106, and revenues of approximately 18.8 million dollars, as well as two dozen special topic archives the topics of which include education, aging, criminal justice, HIV, substance abuse, terrorism, and other fields. An executive director serves as ICPSR's chief executive officer and a council—consisting of twelve individuals elected by ICPSR's membership—serves the organization's executive committee and governing body.

Currently, ICPSR focuses on newly emerging challenges in digital curation and data science, particularly with the paradigm shift towards open access. ICPSR recognizes the importance of data stewardship in the research world, as it encourages information-sharing and scholarly collaboration. In 2014, ICPSR released openICPSR, a research data sharing service that highlights the new role of technology in public-use social and behavioral science research.

In 2020, ICPSR launched the COVID-19 Data Repository, a data archive to share coronavirus-related research.

The Center for Research on the Utilization of Scientific Knowledge (CRUSK)

In 1961, Ronald Lippitt and other ISR staff members began exploring questions concerning knowledge utilization as a coherent and viable domain of inquiry. In the fall of 1962, with the aid of funds provided by the Ford Foundation, Vice President Roger Heyns appointed a university-wide committee to study the need for the development of a new university activity focused on the more effective, practical utilization of scientific knowledge. As a result of the committee's recommendations, the Center for Research on the Utilization of Scientific Knowledge (CRUSK) was established in 1964. Its charge was to research the processes by which scientific knowledge is disseminated and utilized, bridging the gap between the creation of new knowledge and the use of knowledge. Floyd Mann was the first director of CRUSK. Early work at CRUSK focused on how scientific knowledge and innovations were used by different entities, and how other programs generated social research designed to be of use to policy makers. In the first 15 years, CRUSK also included action-oriented staff interested in changing organizations. In later years, CRUSK research focused on health and education policy. By 1971, CRUSK was at its peak in terms of number of programs and size of staff, with seven senior staff. By the mid-1970s, much of the staff had left, including Mann and Lippitt. A large component of CRUSK, which had been concerned with making improvements in elementary and secondary education, was dispersed. In 1986, with many vacant staff positions and a financial struggle, a decision was made to dissolve the center.

The Program for Research on Black Americans (PRBA)

The Program for Research on Black Americans (PRBA) of the Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research (University of Michigan) was established in 1976 and represented the first significant assembly of Black students to conduct research across social and political sciences. The program is an ongoing collaboration between an interdisciplinary team of social scientists dedicated to collecting, analyzing, and interpreting high quality national data on African Americans and international data on people of African descent in order to inform the creation of effective public policy. The PRBA's research in 2020 focused on discrimination, racism, and resilience; physical and mental health disparities, particularly the reduction of both those disparities as well as health disorders; aging and human development; politics and political participation; and identity and migration.

The program has launched several major research projects since its inception. The National Survey of Black Americans Series (circa 1979-1992) addressed both the limitations in existing research on the study of Black Americans and furnished data on a variety of topics of Black American life. The National Politics Study Series (started in 1984) provides an in-depth investigation of topics relating, but not limited, to Black Americans' political attitudes, perceptions, and electoral behaviors. The National Survey of American Life Series (circa 2001-2004) focused heavily on mental health disorders and disparities among members of different ethnic groups, particularly African-Americans and Blacks living in the Caribbean. Other PRBA projects include WeGlobal: The African American Research and Education Program (alternatively known as the WeGlobal: The African American Research and Education Project or WEGLOBAL), which was founded in circa 2016-2017 by Dr. Deborah Robinson and focuses on the lives and experiences of African American expatriates.

The PRBA also established the African American Mental Health Research Center (AAMHRC) in 1990 with support from the National Institute of Mental Health. The AAMHRC investigated mental health disorders of children, adults, and/or those with chronic mentally illnesses living in urban areas. The PRBA is also part of the Michigan Center for Urban African American Aging Research (MCUAAAR), a collaborative effort also involving Wayne State University and Michigan State University. The MCUAAAR emphasizes mentoring researchers whose research will focus on older African Americans, enhancing and maintaining diversity in various fields related to health and aging, and enhancing health and reducing health disparities.

Another key goal of the program is to offer research and training opportunities to social scientists and students of color. PRBA provides a variety of workshops and seminars, the topics of which include the broader African American population, aging, mental and physical health, and the research process. The program also published an in-house journal, African American Research Perspectives from 1994 to 2010.

James S. Jackson

Dr. James Sydney Jackson (born 1944) received his B.S. in Psychology from Michigan State University (1966), M.A. in Psychology from the University of Toledo (1970), and Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Wayne State University (1972). He began serving at the University of Michigan as an assistant professor of psychology in 1971 and had received full professor status by 1986.

Jackson was instrumental in establishing the PRBA and served as its director from 1976-2005. He launched the National Survey of Black Americans, which pioneered the concept of non-comparative racial research. He also directed the most extensive social, political behavior, and mental and physical health surveys on the African American and Black Caribbean populations ever conducted: "The National Survey of American Life," "The Family Survey across Generations and Nations," and the "National Study of Ethnic Pluralism and Politics." Overall, Jackson has served as the principal co-principal investigator for more than 40 funded research projects.

Jackson holds a number of positions at the University of Michigan, including Professor of Afroamerican and African Studies, Department of Afroamerican and African Studies; Faculty Associate, Center for Research on Ethnicity, Culture and Health; and the Daniel Katz Distinguished University Professor of Psychology. He also served as Professor of Health Behavior and Health Education in School of Public Health (1990-2007), in addition to other roles. His research focuses on racial and ethnic influences on life course development, attitude change, reciprocity, social support, and coping and health among Blacks in the Diaspora.

In addition to leading the PRBA, Jackson has served in numerous other leadership roles at the University of Michigan and beyond. These have included being the Director of the Institute of Social Research (2005-2015), Center for Afroamerican and African Studies (1998-2005), Research Center for Group Dynamics (1996-2005), and the African American Mental Health Research Center (1990-2000). Outside of the University of Michigan, he served on several committees of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine and its National Research Council, as National Chairman of the Black Students Psychological Association (1970-1971), and as Chair of the National Association of Black Psychologists (1972-1973).

Jackson is the recipient of numerous awards, including the American Psychological Association's Distinguished Scientific Award for the Applications of Psychology (2019), James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award for Distinguished Career Contributions in Applied Psychology from the Association for Psychological Sciences (2007), and Distinguished Career Contributions to Research Award, Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues, American Psychological Association (2001).

Jackson has received a number of other honors over the course of his career, including being elected to the National Academy of Medicine. He was also named a W.E.B. Du Bois Fellow of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences (2012) as well as Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2010), American Association for the Advancement of Science (2005), Association for Psychological Science (1989), and American Psychological Association (1989), among others. He is also a founding member of the new "Aging Society Research Network" of the MacArthur Foundation.

In August 2014, Jackson was sworn in to serve a six-year term on the National Science Board, the advisory board of the National Science Foundation (NSF). The Board oversees the NSF, as well as provides the president and Congress with policy-related advice regarding science, engineering, and education in those fields.

Population Studies Center (PSC)

The Population Studies Center was formed in 1961 by Ronald Freedman, who served as Director from 1962-1971. The Center was originally established as unit in the Department of Sociology. It became an autonomous unit of the School of Literature, Sciences, and Arts in 1991 and transitioned to the Institute for Social Research in 1998.

The Center conducts inter-disciplinary demographics research in the core areas of population health and health disparities; relationships, family, and reproductive health; human capital, income and wealth; place, space and inequality; population dynamics; and innovations in data and methods. The research projects are often funded by important public and private organizations, including various National Institute of Health (NIH) institutes, such as the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and National Institute on Aging (NIA); National Science Foundation (NSF); and Ford Foundation. The PSC has also offered fellowships and apprenticeship for pre-doctoral and post-doctoral scholars.

The Institute for Social Research (ISR)

Throughout its history, funding sources and staff compensation have been important issues. In the mid-1960s, research expanded in many different directions and new research techniques were explored. ISR staff expressed concern regarding the direction of research, fiscal constraints, and the ability to attract new senior staff members. The University Of Michigan Board Of Regents granted tenure privileges to senior members of the professional staff of ISR on November 15, 1968, although as early as 1952, a report to the president requested tenure be extended to institute personnel.

By the early 1950s, the staff of ISR had grown from a dozen to over 200. After a series of temporary locations, which included the basement of the University Elementary School and space in Old University Hall, ISR moved into its own building on Thompson Street in 1965 with a second wing added in 1976. Construction on a third wing began in 1988 and was completed the following year. In 2000, a project was initiated to renovate and put an addition on the Perry Building, which currently houses several components of ISR—the project was completed in 2002. A second construction project—designed to add a 52,000 square foot to the Perry Building—began in 2004 and was completed in 2006. Another construction project—which would add a 56,700 square foot addition to the Thompson building as well as renovate a significant portion of the building—began in 2012 and was completed in 2014.

Early support from the psychology and sociology departments was crucial in the decision to establish ISR at the university, and ties between those units were strengthened and enlarged over the years. ISR staff have taught in a variety of disciplines, including economics, journalism, mathematics, political science, psychology, sociology, education, public health, law, social work, business administration, and engineering. Staff have also collaborated with different schools, colleges, and departments on various research projects, or made available the sampling, coding, interviewing, and data processing to staff. Over the years, ISR members have become increasingly involved in departmental activities.

ISR was characterized in its early years by rapid growth; in the 1950s, research volume increased from an annual rate of less than $1 million to about $2 million. Annual volume in the 1960s increased from about $2 million to $7 million, and from about $7 million to $14 million in the 1970s. In 1981, ISR confronted a severe loss of revenue due to decreased support at the federal level, which forced ISR to look for support from local and state governments, and private industry. In 1982-1983 the Institute's Computer Service Facility was dismantled and its IBM 360/40—acquired in 1967—was given to the Computing Center, in an effort to reduce administrative and support services. In the late 1970s, a computer-assisted telephone interviewing and direct-data entry system was developed at the SRC, and is still in use.

Rensis Likert retired as director of ISR in 1970 and was succeeded by Angus Campbell from 1970 to 1976. F. Thomas Juster became director in 1976, and completed his second five-year term as director in mid-1986. He returned to the Economic Behavior Program within the SRC. Philip Converse assumed the role of director in 1986 and stepped down from that position in January 1989. Robert B. Zajonc was director from 1989 to 1994. Harold K. Jacobson served as acting director from 1994-1995, in addition to his role as director of CPS. David Featherman assumed the role of director in 1995. James Jackson was his successor, serving from 2005 to 2015. David Lam, chair of the Department of Economics, succeeded James Jackson in 2015.

In 1986, at the suggestion of President Shapiro and Vice President Frye, an outside committee was asked to review ISR. Chaired by Professor James Tobin of Yale University, its report made a number of recommendations regarding possible directions and developments, some of which were subsequently implemented. As of 1997, ISR was the nation's longest-standing laboratory for interdisciplinary research in the social sciences. Its professional and administrative staff numbered over 350 and the research staff represent the disciplines of psychology, political science, economics, and sociology, among others.

ISR's mission is threefold: to plan and conduct rigorous social science research, to disseminate the findings of this research, and to train future generations of social scientists. The institute's scientific method is supported by organizational diversity. In doing so, ISR promotes core values of equal protection, equal opportunity, equal access, and inclusion in all its actions and initiatives.

In 2005, James Jackson was appointed the leader of ISR. Jackson was the former director of the Research Center for Group Dynamics, Program for Research on Black Americans, and Center for Afroamerican and African Studies. Also in 2005, Nancy Burns became the first woman to lead an ISR center when she was appointed director of the Center for Population Studies. In 2016, Margaret Levenstein was named ICPSR's director—she was the first woman to hold this position. ISR has celebrated numerous anniversaries over the decades. To mark the institution's 50th anniversary, an oral history project was initiated and oral histories of individuals collected to the ISR were collected. As part of its 60th anniversary, a time capsule to be opened in 2049—the institute's 100th anniversary—was buried in Fall 2009. Additionally, as part of the University of Michigan's Bicentennial, a symposium entitled "Impact on Inequality: Contributions of Michigan Social Science Bicentennial Symposium" was held on November 9-10, 2017.

As of 2020, students can—in addition to those programs offered via ISR's individual centers— enroll in graduate, doctoral, and certificate programs offered via the Michigan Program in Survey Methodology (MPSM). Established in 2001, MPSM involves faculty and scientists from various departments—including the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts; the School of Public Health; the School of Information and the Institute for Social Research—teaching survey methodology. Students can also enroll in the Joint Program in Survey Methodology (JPSM), a collaborative effort between the University of Michigan, the University of Maryland, and organizations including the survey research firm Westat Inc.

Directors of Institutes and Centers

Institute for Social Research

Date	Event
1948-1970	Rensis Likert
1970-1976	Angus Campbell
1976-1986	F. Thomas Juster
1986-1989	Philip Converse
1989-1994	Robert B. Zajonc
1994-1995	Harold K. Jacobson (acting)
1995-2005	David L. Featherman
2005-2015	James S. Jackson
2015-	David Lam

Research Center for Group Dynamics

Date	Event
1948-1959	Dorwin Cartwright
1959-1978	Alvin Zander
1979-1982	Philip Brickman
1982-1989	Robert B. Zajonc
1989-1996	Richard E. Nisbett
1996-2005	James E. Jackson
2006-2012	Rowell Huesmann
2013-2015	Jerome Johnston
2015-	Richard Gonzalez

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research

Date	Event
1962-1970	Warren E. Miller
1970-1971	Samuel Barnes (acting)
1971-1975	Richard Hofferbert
1975-1991	Jerome Clubb
1991-2000	Richard C. Rockwell
2001-2009	Myron Gutmann
2009-2016	George Alter (acting 2009-2011)
2016-	Maggie Levenstein

Center for Research on the Utilization of Scientific Knowledge

Date	Event
1964-1973	Floyd Mann
1973-1974	Nathan Caplan (acting)
1974-1979	Donald Pelz
1979-1980	David Bowers
1980-1984	Lee Sechrest
1984-1986	Jerome Johnston and Paul Wortman

Center for Political Studies

Date	Event
1970-1981	Warren Miller
1982-1986	Philip Converse
1986-1996	Harold K. Jacobson
1996-2002	William Zimmerman
2003-2004	Mark Tessler
2005-2014	Nancy Burns
2014-2015	Michael Traugott (interim)
2015-	Ken Kollman

Survey Research Center

Date	Event
1946-1948	Rensis Likert
1948-1970	Angus Campbell
1970-1976	Robert Kahn
1976-1982	Stephen Withey
1982-1990	Howard Schuman
1990	Jerald G. Bachman (interim)
1991-2001	James House
2001-2009	Robert M. Groves
2009-2014	William Axinn
2014-2019	Trivellore Raghunathan
2019-	Matthew Shapiro

Population Studies Center

Date	Event
1962-1971	Ronald Freedman
1972-1976	David Goldberg
1977-1987	Albert Hermalin
1988-1990	William Mason
1991-1994	Barbara Anderson
1994-2003	David Lam
2003-2008	Arland Thornton
2008-2010	David Lam
2010-2013	Pamela Smock
2013-2020	Jeffrey Morenoff
2020-	Sarah Burgard

Acquisition Information:

The record group (donor 3563 ) was first received in 1959. The bulk of the material was received in six subsequent accessions in 1995 and 1996. Additional accesions were received in 2018 and 2019.

Processing information:

Boxes 121 and 123 were eliminated in processing.

Arrangement:

The records of the Institute for Social Research are arranged in eight subgroups reflecting the organizational makeup of ISR and a separate subgroup for audiovisual material: 1. Center for Research on the Utilization of Scientific Knowledge (CRUSK). 2. ISR Administrative Files. 3. Program for Research on Black Americans. 4. Research Center for Group Dynamics (RCGD). 5. Survey Research Center (SRC). 6. Audiovisual Materials. 7. Population Studies Center. 8. Center for Political Studies.

1. Center for the Research Utilization of Scientific Knowledge (boxes 24-25, 124)
2. ISR Administrative Files
   • Governance Committees (boxes 1-10, 57-60, 62-69)
   • Reports and Policies (boxes 10, 55, 124)
   • Director's Files (boxes 10-20, 51-54, 56, 61-62, 69, 124)
   • Assistant Director's Files (boxes 21-24, 51)
3. Program for Research on Black Americans (boxes 70-111, 125-148)
4. Research Center for Group Dynamics (box 25-26, 98, 109, 120,122,124)
5. Survey Research Center
   • Committees and Other Groups (boxes 26-31, 51, 115-116)
   • Director's Files (boxes 31-39, 51)
   • Policies, Press Releases, and Reports (box 39)
   • Project and Proposal Files (boxes 40-50, 113-114, 117-120)
   • Faculty Oral Histories (box 112)
6. Audiovisual Material (boxes 54, 98, 100, 124)
7. Populations Studies Center (box 112)
8. Center for Political Studies (box 143)

Accruals:

Periodic additions to the records expected.

Rules or Conventions:

Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Related

Additional Descriptive Data:

Related Materials

The Bentley Historical Library holds the papers of several directors who headed either the Institute for Social Research and/or its centers. Additionally, the Bentley Historical Library has archived numerous websites created by the Institute for Social Research. Please consult the University of Michigan Library's catalog for more information.

For several examples of related materials, see the following Bentley Historical Library resources: Institute for Social Research (University of Michigan) publications and the Institute for Social Research Oral History Videotapes and Transcripts.

Subjects

Click on terms below to find any related finding aids on this site.

Subjects:

African Americans.
Aging.
Blacks -- United States.
Family.
Mental health.
Political participation.
Public opinion.
Race relations.
Social psychology.
Social sciences -- Research.
Social surveys.

Formats:

Audiocassettes.
Digital file formats.
Film reels.
Oral histories (document genres).
Phonograph records.
Photographs.
Sound recordings.

Names:

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research.
University of Michigan. Center for Political Studies.
University of Michigan. Center for Research on Utilization of Scientific Knowledge.
University of Michigan. Institute for Social Research.
University of Michigan. Population Studies Center.
University of Michigan. Program for Research on Black Americans.
University of Michigan -- Research.
University of Michigan. Research Center for Group Dynamics.
University of Michigan. Survey Research Center.
Campbell, Angus, 1910-1980.
Cannell, Charles F.
Cartwright, Dorwin.
Converse, Philip E., 1928-2014.
Freedman, Ronald, 1917-2007.
Gurin, Gerald, 1922-
Jackson, James S. (James Sidney), 1944-
Juster, F. Thomas (Francis Thomas), 1926-
Kahn, Robert Louis, 1918-
Katz, Daniel, 1903-1998.
Kish, Leslie, 1910-2000.
Lewin, Kurt, 1890-1947.
Likert, Rensis, 1903-1981.
Miller, Warren E. (Warren Edward), 1924-1999.
Morgan, James N.
Pelz, Donald Campbell, 1921-