The unparalleled residue of unsifted primary materials relating to the nineteenth century London theater present tremendous opportunities and challenges for theater historians. The histories of individual London theaters may be studied for insights into changes that distinguished nineteenth century theater from that of the eighteenth century; and an examination of nineteenth century drama provides vital evidence of London life of that period. But because the massive numbers of materials available afford only fitful glimpses of the total reality they represent, a systematic effort is needed for a new, quantitative form of scholarship in artistic and cultural history. A research project begun in 1972 and now titled "The London Stage 1880-1900: A Documentary Record and Calendar of Performances" encompasses a number of projects, including production of a calendar of stage performances, a census of theater archives, a directory of plays, a bibliography of nineteenth century English drama, and a biographical dictionary. A set of computer programs called INFOL-2 has been used for storing records sequentially and has proved satisfactory despite its limitations in processing information that needs to be stored in nested hierarchical relationships. The research project has pointed up the need to explore thoroughly the dimensions of the research task, from the standpoint both of gathering materials and of putting them into useful forms. (GT)