Cannell, Charles F.

Charles Frederick Cannell was born on September 10, 1913 in Antrim, New Hampshire. He received his B.A. from the University of New Hampshire in 1936 and began his doctorial studies in clinical psychology two years later at the Ohio State University. After the United States entered World War II, Cannell interrupted his doctorial studies and moved to Washington D.C., where he began work at the Division of Program Studies in the Department of Agriculture. By the end of his time at the department, Cannell had risen to the position of field staff director for the Program Studies Division, which had developed into a general survey facility for the government.

In 1946 Cannell moved to Ann Arbor and joined the faculty of the University of Michigan. Along with Rensis Likert and Angus Campbell, Cannell was among the first generation of researchers who founded the Survey Research Center (SRC), a division of the university's Institute for Social Research. Cannell helped to establish the SRC as one of the first national interviewing facilities in the United States. Cannell also restarted his dissertation, receiving his doctoral degree from Ohio State in 1952.

Cannell was most known for his work in methodological research. While at the University of Michigan, his research focused on understanding the psychology of the survey process, the reliability of survey data, and variables acting on interviewers and respondents. Along with many articles and chapters he produced throughout his career, he co-authored the classic 1957 book, The Dynamics of Interviewing, with Robert Kahn. Cannell was a fellow of the American Statistical Association and the American Psychological Association. He was a Fulbright Senior Scholar in 1981, and in 1999 received the Award for Exceptionally Distinguished Achievement from the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR). The university and the Survey Research Center honors his memory with the Charles Cannell Fund in Survey Methodology, with the goal to "further research and training on the interviewer-respondent interaction and its effects on the validity and quality of survey data."

Sources consulted:

From the guide to the Charles F. Cannell papers, 1946-2001, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)