The File is a collection of documents from a major dispute involving a number of American college professors, mainly mathematicians, statisticians,and sociologists. The controversy was ignited by the mathematician Serge Lang's reaction to a questionnaire, "The 1977 Survey of the American Professoriate", distributed by E. C. Ladd of the University of Connecticut and S. M. Lipset of Stanford. The ensuing discussion - in part acrimonious and personal - soon involved a large group of active and passive participants, and included issues such as survey techniques, evaluation of academic work, public and political honesty, and McCarthyism at Harvard.

InhaltsangabeIntroductory Letter to the Reader.- Why bother? (Your point of view). Why bother? (My point of view). Editorial responsibility.- The letters. Introductory and other comments. Objectivity.- The Story: Summary.- A Reply to Lang.- The Ladd-Lipset Surveys-A Brief Review. The Methodology of the 1977 Survey. Survey Research on Public Opinion and Social Values. Sampling. Nonresponse. Question Design and Questionnaire Development. Envoi.- The File.- "The 1977 Survey of the American Professoriate".- VERITAS AT HARVARD, by Sigmund Diamond from the New York Review of Books, 28 April 1977.- The First Year.- One: The Opening Exchange.- Two: From Koblitz's Letter to Lang's Fifteen Pages of Comments.- Three: From Lang's Comments to the Science Article.- Four: From Science to New York Review of Books.- Five: The Garfinkel Letter ("McCarthyism"?).- Six: The New York Review of Books Article.- The Second Year.- Seven: Trying to Settle Loose Ends.- Eight: The Chronicle Causes a Rebound.- Nine: From Mac Lane's Letter to the Editors (Notices, AMS) to Lang's Letter to the Editor (Bulletin, AAUP).- Ten: The Stakes Are Raised.- Eleven: The "Ratings" Get Publicity.- Twelve: The AAUP-Chronicle Relation.- Thirteen: End of the Second Year.- Into a Third Year.- Fourteen: "McCarthyism"? (Again).- Fifteen: "Intemperate and Libelous"?.- Sixteen: Ladd-Lipset, Survey Research, Sociology. Can We Generalize? How?.- Seventeen: The Story Goes On.- Eighteen: Closing the File.- Appendices.- Appendix II. Documents on the Carnegie-ACE 1969 Survey.- Lang Letter to Clark Kerr on the 1969 Survey.- Appendix III. "Representative Sampling, I: Non-scientific Literature," by William Kruskal and Frederic Mosteller.- Appendix IV. Veritas at Harvard.- Some Themes and Issues.- S. Lang.- Correction. "The 1977 Survey of the American Professoriate": quality; use of the questionnaire; academic effect; administrative effect and public effect. Survey research. Sociology. Social Sciences. VERITAS AT HARVARD. Scholarship: academic only? active? political? Journalistic power; the cc list; letters to the editor. Financial power. Subservience to authority and power: intellectual authority; statutory authority and power. The competence of the surveyors. The personal aspect of the file. The methodology of the file. Collegiality. Responsibility: institutional; journalistic; scientific; personal. Conclusion.- Publication of the File.- Comments and Letters.- "Selective Memory and Scholarly Controversy,".- Seymour Martin Lipset.