Paul Lazarsfeld

Paul Lazarsfeld was an Austrian-American sociologist who developed influential survey methods and studied voting, mass communication, and social research.

Robert K. Merton: An American sociologist known for theories of social structure, middle-range theory, and the sociology of science. Merton collaborated with Lazarsfeld on research methods and the study of mass communication.
The People's Choice: A 1944 study by Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson, and Hazel Gaudet of voting decisions in Erie County, Ohio. This study established his account of campaign influence and voting decisions.
Survey research: A method of collecting standardized information from a sample of people through questions. Lazarsfeld helped turn surveys into a rigorous tool for studying attitudes and behavior.
Columbia University Bureau of Applied Social Research: A Columbia University research center founded by Lazarsfeld in 1944 to conduct empirical social research. The bureau trained researchers and institutionalized large-scale survey studies.
Elihu Katz: An American-Israeli sociologist whose work helped establish media effects and diffusion research. Katz joined Lazarsfeld in developing the two-step flow model of communication.
Voting: The act of choosing among candidates or options in an election or other formal decision. Lazarsfeld's election studies made voting behavior a central subject of empirical sociology.
Panel study: A longitudinal study that gathers repeated observations from the same individuals over time. Repeated interviews let his election research track how voters' intentions changed.
Two-step flow of communication: A model in which media messages reach many people through opinion leaders who interpret and relay them. Lazarsfeld's election research supplied evidence for this account of mediated influence.
Theodor W. Adorno: A German philosopher and social theorist associated with the Frankfurt School and critical theory. Their disagreement over radio research exposed a conflict between administrative and critical approaches.
Personal Influence: A 1955 study by Elihu Katz and Paul Lazarsfeld on interpersonal influence in decision-making. It developed the argument that personal contacts often mediate mass-media effects.

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