Richard Mercer Dorson (March 12, 1916 – September 11, 1981) was an American folklorist, professor, and director of the Folklore Institute at Indiana University.

[3] He brought the eminent folklorist Linda Dégh to Bloomington, who revolutionized American folklore research.

[4] Dorson's study of American folklore involved several roles; "polemicist, critic, field collector, library scholar".

[8] Dorson dismissed Stevens' book on Paul Bunyan, and the later work of Ben Botkin as fakelore, or "a synthetic product claiming to be authentic oral tradition but actually tailored for mass edification", which "misled and gulled the public".

In addition to his several books, Dorson also edited the Folktales of the World series, published between 1963 and 1979 by the University of Chicago Press.