James Allan Davis

Who is James Allan Davis?

'James A. Davis' is a distinguished American sociologist who is best known as a pioneer in the application of quantitative statistical methods to social science research and teaching. He is currently Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Chicago.

In 1972, while Professor Davis was Director of the National Opinion Research Center, he founded the National Data Program for the Social Sciences and developed the General Social Survey. He later co-founded the International Social Survey Program.

GSS is the biennial national survey that has been tracking social change in America continuously since 1972. The GSS provides scholars, policy makers, students, and the interested general public with data on Americans’ attitudes, and continues to document changes in Americans’ behavior and attitudes. The GSS is the second-most frequently used dataset in sociology, after the US Census.

In addition to teaching at the University of Chicago, Davis taught at Yale University, Dartmouth College, and Harvard University 1977 to 1994, where he and his wife, Martha Davis, were co-masters of Winthrop House beginning in 1979.