shift from theoretical research into one grounded in empirical data. Bulmer notes that "the subsequent use in sociological research of personal documents, such as life histories, letters, diaries, and other first-person material, may in large measure be traced back to the influence of The Polish Peasant. (This approach is known as content analysis, and this study has also been described as a classic case study of this approach). The life story of Władek was the first systematically collected sociological life history". It was a major influence on the Chicago school, providing a model for much future research. It contributed to the development of the social disorganization theory and became a landmark study of Americanization (in the word's original meaning, i.e. how do new immigrants to United States become "Americans"). It was also one of the earliest works to study the topic of immigration to the United States, particularly with regards to trying to understand both the European and the American social context. In 1937 the Social Science Research Council listed the book as one of the six most important works in social sciences. A year later, Herbert Blumer headed a commission which produced an extensive, approximate 200-pages analysis of the book, and became the first tome in a series of Critiques of Research in the Social Science. By 1939 it had at least 30 English reviews and 10 in different languages. A Polish edition, Chłop polski w Europie i Ameryce, was published in 1976. References Bibliography Further reading External links Full text of the book at archive.org: 1927 edition, 1918 edition, other versions Full text of the book, 1918-1920 edition , at cornell.edu Polish-American history Sociology books Rural sociology Books about social constructionism Non-fiction books about immigration to the United States History books about agriculture Works about farmers History books about ethnic groups History books about Poland 1918 non-fiction books 1919 non-fiction books 1920 non-fiction books