The Successful Introduction of Empirical Social Research in Post-War Norway

The aim of the study is to examine the actors and circumstances that led to the establishment of the Columbia model of empirical social research in Norway between 1947 and 1955. The article analyses Lazarsfeld's first European sabbatical in Oslo and looks for the links between his activities, the objectives of other actors, and the development of sociology at University of Oslo. The active level of interest among young academics and students at this university in the model of sociology practised at Columbia University in New York helped to initiate the whole process. Support from Rockefeller Foundation, Fulbright Programme, Norwegian industrialists, and the rector of the university also paved the way for the successful implementation of the model. The article concludes by describing the formation of the Institute for Social Research in Oslo and the strengthening of its position in the Norwegian academic system in the early 1950s. It is also worth remembering the importance of Paul Lazarsfeld, who, though he was not always on the scene, evidently contributed to the ultimately successful process of the institutionalisation of empirical sociology in Norway.