This series contains research articles compiled by Burghardt related to animal play behavior and other related topics including anthropology, biology, ethology, evolutionary psychology, ontology, and much more. Burghardt's correspondence with other research scholars is also included. Materials include drafts, photocopies, and printed articles.

The series is arranged alphabetically by the first listed author or by non-Burghardt correspondent. In some cases, Burghardt filed articles by an additional author's name or by topic. A spreadsheet of articles included in this series is available and notes the location of any articles that are not filed alphabetically. This series contains one restricted folder to protect personal privacy.

Of interest, Burghardt's correspondence with Brian Sutton-Smith is in box 7 folders 31-36 and box 8 folder 1-2.