The USIA started in 1953 as an independent foreign affairs agency within the executive branch charged with the conduct of public diplomacy in support of U.S. foreign policy. Public diplomacy complements and reinforces traditional diplomacy by communicating directly with foreign publics through a wide range of international information, educational and cultural exchange activities. This collection is from USIA's Office of Research. The Office of Research's purpose was to help achieve U.S. foreign policy objectives by assessing public attitudes in a variety of countries worldwide; and on a variety of issues including the implications of foreign opinion on past, present, and future U.S. policies, programs, and official statements. These materials were used by the president and his cabinet, diplomats abroad, and other executive departments and agencies. The Field Research Reports consist of country files and includes correspondence, questionnaires, survey results, memorandums, notes, tables, photographs, publications, clippings, reports, telegrams, exhibition programs, and surveys of foreign public opinion. This collection provides documentation on many countries, including Brazil, Austria, France, West Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, Thailand, South Vietnam, India, Iran, Nigeria, and South Africa. This collection also includes regional reports for Western Europe, East Asia, Middle East and South Asia, and Eastern Europe.