It is the purpose of this paper to summarize briefly the nature of current and prospective social science research on Africa conducted by the nongovernment research community. Part I is devoted to a brief description of the attitudes and aims of the private researcher and to some general considerations about his past accomplishments and present concerns in the field of African Studies. Part II discusses African research in each of five disciplines: political science, anthropology, economics, psychology, and education.

Chief sources for the paper are the relevant chapters of the forthcoming book The African World: A Survey of Social Research, edited by Robert A. Lystad for the African Studies Association (New York, Frederick A. Praeger, Inc., April 20, 1965). This paper is reproduced by the kind permission of Frederick A. Praeger, Inc. The authors of the chapters used as references in this paper are: Political Science, Harvey Glickman, Haverford College; Anthropology, Philip Gulliver, School of Oriental and African Studies; Economics, Andrew M. Kamarck, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development; Psychology, Leonard Doob, Yale University; Education, David Scanlon, Columbia Teachers College. The present writer is solely responsible for the presentation and interpretation of their materials as they appear in this paper.