Paul F. Lazarsfeld, An Empirical Theory of Action

This book provides a critical introduction to the key writings of Paul Lazarsfeld (1901-1976), edited by two prominent sociologists. It includes Lazarsfeld's early work on youth and occupation, which shows the intellectual influences of Austro-Marxism, academic psychology, and the philosophy of the Vienna Circle, and how they were applied to specific social issues. They also show how Lazarsfeld's concerns about the intellectual and methodological aspects of sociology, which foreshadowed some of the major issues in current sociological methods, played an important role in shaping the direction of the discipline in the United States. The essays demonstrate how Lazarsfeld laid many of the foundations for reliable social survey techniques and qualitative methods for understanding key aspects of contemporary society. Some examples of these aspects are voting studies, opinion polling, occupational research, and mass media research. Lazarsfeld's early work in "administrative research" laid the groundwork for a lot of market and business research. The essays in this book are accompanied by a detailed and illuminating biographical introduction by the editors. This collection is an important addition to the history of 20th-century sociology. It is also the only English-language source of Paul Lazarsfeld's early writings.