Lazarsfeld insisted that theory precede empirical listener research but must ultimately culminate in it.

Evidence

Somewhat taken aback, Lazarsfeld emphasized in his reply: I agree with you also that such an approach needs a theoretical analysis first, and might have to start definitely by an analysis of music production. It is exactly as a stronghold of theoretical analysis preceding any research that I am looking forward to your coming. On the other hand, we shall have to understand that you have to end up finally with actual research among listeners, although in many cases we might have to stop with the formulation of the theoretical problem and discussions of techniques to answer them, simply for reasons of time. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 261

Categorization

• XREF: Represents the administrative-research versus critical-theory tension central to the Frankfurt School’s American reception. — connects to: Lazarsfeld explicitly reconciled theory-first analysis with eventual empirical listener research — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 994; Adorno insisted theory must precede empirical research, even if research is never reached. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 994; Lazarsfeld’s methodological flexibility allowed reconciliation of radical research with institutional demands — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1000
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: Lazarsfeld explicitly reconciled theory-first analysis with eventual empirical listener research — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 994; Adorno insisted theory must precede empirical research, even if research is never reached. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 994; Lazarsfeld’s methodological flexibility allowed reconciliation of radical research with institutional demands — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1000

Broader Connections

• Lazarsfeld explicitly reconciled theory-first analysis with eventual empirical listener research #corroborates (0.95) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 994