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.

Table of Contents:
Introductory 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.