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This paper seeks to synthesize some of the main conclusions a of those who have thought about or studied the uses and limitations of social science research for public policy. The paper is designed to provide some background for a discussion of social science and public policy by government officials, social scientists, and others who are interested in policy research. We deal with the following factors which appear to have influenced the utilization of social science research results: (1) the validity of the scientific approach to social questions, (2) the individual researcher and policy maker and their attitudes toward each other, (3) the communication between researcher and policy maker, (4) the type of research conducted, (5) the type of research organizations involved, (6) the motivation for the research effort, and (7) the nature of the topic being studied. ; Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources

Names such as Armor, Pettigrew, Glazer, Jencks, Herrnstein, Clark and Moynihan have not yet appeared in the pages of Ring magazine, but it seems only a matter of time. It is no secret, after all, that these men, all intellectual heavyweights, are engaged in an ongoing, fierce slugging match over a host of issues related to the "limits of social policy." Their verbal fisticuffs have been characterized by a good deal of fancy footwork, plenty of hard hitting, some low blows and inevitable cries of foul. For some time Public Interest was booking the best cards, but with more than 150 pages of its February, 1973, issue devoted to a detailed critique of Jencks's Inequality, it may be assumed that the Harvard Educational Review became, as it was during the Jensen brawl, the main arena of conflict. The bulk of recent attention was focused on the hard punching of Jencks's critics, but it would be a pity if the brilliant footwork of Kenneth Clark went unnoticed. His performance is simply remarkable.

Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction / Charles Frankel -- The Autonomy of the Social Sciences / Charles Frankel -- The Role of Values in Social Science Research / Nicholas Rescher -- The Reward System of the Social Sciences / Jonathan R. Cole and Stephen Cole -- The Ideal of Objectivity among American Social Scientists in the Era of Professionalization, 1876-1916 / Hugh Hawkins -- Max Weber and the Roots of Academic Freedom / Robert Nisbet -- Five Decades of Public Controversy Over Mental Testing / Lee J. Cronbach