The papers of Professor Allen Day Grimshaw are composed of seven series: Personal/Biographical and Education; Correspondence; Publications; Research; Committees and Other Professional Activities; Teaching; and Subject Files.

Personal/Biographical and Education, 1931-1999: This series contains Professor Grimshaw's various personal and education files. It is further organized into two subseries. The Personal subseries contains curriculum vitas, awards, certificates, Air Force service records, and personal photos. It is arranged chronologically. The Education subseries contains class notes, syllabi, and papers from Grimshaw's undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral work. The bulk of the material comes from his time spent at the University of Missouri. It is arranged chronologically.

Correspondence, 1953-2008: The correspondence series is comprised of two subseries; Correspondence related to publications and General correspondence. The correspondence related to publications is the larger of the two and primarily consists of papers sent to Professor Grimshaw for review or critique. The second subseries primarily contains general professional and personal correspondence. Both subseries are arranged alphabetically by last name. Unsorted correspondence has been placed at the end of the general correspondence subseries and is arranged by type in chronological order.

Publications, 1955-2003: The publications series is organized into five subseries; Books; Journal articles and chapters; Book reviews; Peer review of proposals; and Correspondence with publishers and editors. The Books subseries contains records related to the various books Professor Grimshaw authored or contributed. It is arranged alphabetically. Notable works include Racial Violence in the United States, Comparative Social Research, Conflict Talk, and Language as a Social Resource. Grimshaw's publication on the MAP project can be found in the research series. The Journal articles and chapters subseries contains articles published in various scholarly journals, encyclopedias, and books. It is arranged chronologically. Some notable works include "Directions for Research in Sociolinguistics: Suggestions of a Non-Linguist Sociologist," "Greetings in the Desert," "Research on Conflict Talk: Antecedents, Resources, Findings, Directions," and "Research on the Discourse of International Negotiations: A Path to Understanding International Conflict Processes?" The Book reviews subseries is further divided into book reviews listed by author's last name and book reviews by journal. It is arranged alphabetically. The Peer review of proposals subseries contains unpublished papers and research proposals critiqued by Professor Grimshaw. It is arranged alphabetically. The Correspondence with publishers and editors subseries contains correspondence between Professor Grimshaw and various publishers and editors of journals who were publishing his works. It is arranged alphabetically.

Research, 1917-1998: The Research series is organized into six subseries: Aral Sea; Generals and Admirals International Negotiation (GAIN); India; Multiple Analysis Project (MAP); Race Riot Dissertation; and Saline Interviews. The Aral Sea and GAIN subseries are arranged chronologically and primarily contain proposals for funding, data transcripts, and audio-visual material. The India subseries is arranged chronologically by topic and contains proposals, research data, papers, correspondence, and audio tapes. The correspondence is arranged alphabetically. The MAP subseries is arranged chronologically by topic and contains research proposals, equipment reports, transcript data, paper drafts, publication information, reviews, and audio-visual material. The Race Riot subseries contains proposals, research data, correspondence, drafts, and the dissertation book. It is arranged chronologically by topic. The Saline interviews subseries contains interview transcripts, notes, correspondence and audio tapes. It is arranged alphabetically.

Committees and Other Professional Activities, 1960-2002: This series contains correspondence, presentations on paper and on audio tape, minutes from the various committees, conferences, and records related to other professional activities Grimshaw in which participated. The series is arranged alphabetically. Among the largest holdings are for the American Sociology Association (ASA), the International Sociological Association (ISA), the Institute for Comparative Sociology (ICS), and the Social Science Research Council (SSRC).

Teaching, 1959-2001: The Teaching series includes syllabi, class notes, readings, exams, student papers from courses taught by Professor Grimshaw at Indiana University, and a video tape of a lecture. The series is arranged by course number. The class most represented in the series is S101 War and Genocide as a Social Problem. A manual on teaching War and Genocide Grimshaw wrote is included in the series.

Subject files, 1962-2003: The Subject files series contains records and audio/visual material on a number of specific topics related to events or issues related to the Indiana University Sociology Department and/or the University as a whole. Notable topics include plans for the further development of the IU sociology department and a visit to IU by Lt. General Mikhail Milshtein (USSR) and Major General John B. Kidd (USAF). The files are arranged alphabetically.