The papers comprise McDougall's letters to his family, general correspondence, articles and addresses by McDougall, newspaper cuttings, photographs and printed material. The subjects of the correspondence include relations between CSIRO and the Government, the 1930 Imperial Conference, a proposal of McDougall to establish a department to collate information and statistics, Australian politics (including the Scullin Government and Parkes By-election), the quota system for wheat and personal news.