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Charles Cannell was a social scientist, professor, and co-founder of the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan. Papers consist of project files, research proposals and grant applications, conference presentations, teaching material, and biographical information, the majority of which span 1974 to 1998. The bulk of the collection represents work on an array of projects regarding interviewing and survey methodology, including several projects on the use of technology, such as the telephone, in the interviewing process.

The Charles F. Cannell Papers measure 2.5 linear feet and range from 1946 to 2001. The bulk of the material, however, dates from 1974 to 1998. Papers consist of project files, research proposals and grant applications, conference presentations, teaching material, and biographical information, the majority of which span 1974 to 1998. The bulk of the collection represents work on an array of projects regarding interviewing and survey methodology, including several projects on the use of technology, such as the telephone, in the interviewing process. The papers have been divided into four series: Biographical Files; Conferences and Seminars Files; Projects and Proposals Files; and Topical Files.

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.

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.