Applied sociology has been around for a long time. Lester Ward's distinction between ‘pure’ and ‘applied’ sociology in 1906 and the Outline of Applied Sociology, written by Yale's Henry Fairchild in 1916 are two of the most well-known indicators of the attention applied sociology received during sociology's emergent stage. After all, applied sociology as social reform – attracted many to the field of sociology – as illustrated by the Chicago School, making it an important part of sociology.

Lester Ward, the acknowledged founder of American sociology, wrote the classic Applied Sociology: A Treatise on the Conscious Improvement of Society by Society that provided an excellent illustration of the early integration of application and sociological knowledge. Furthermore, Ward, by training a botanist and zoologist, was attracted to the social world by his desire for its improvement. He states in his ‘Treatise’: ‘The purpose of applied sociology is to harmonize achievement with improvement’ (Ward, 1906). Like many of his contemporaries, Ward thought social knowledge should be used for social improvement and reform – ‘pure’ should result in ‘applied’, or ‘applied’ should be integral with ‘pure’.

An early example of this reform-oriented sociology is the ‘fivedollar day plan’ by Henry Ford and the development of the Ford Sociological Department within the company to conduct research to determine not only who should participate in the plan but also to suggest ways that non-qualifiers could alter their behaviour to qualify (Loizedes & Sonnad, 2004).