Jul 11, · Documentary analysis – a useful form of primary research? Most students who are doing their thesis use documents as secondary or subsidiary sources that contribute to the literature review stage of their research. Such documents are usually books, book chapters, papers in journals, etc. that have been written by other academics (historians Estimated Reading Time: 5 mins Documentary research is similar to content analysis, which involves studying existing information recorded in media, texts, and physical items. Here, data collection from people is not required to conduct research. Hence, this is a prime example of secondary blogger.comted Reading Time: 8 mins ANALYSING DOCUMENTS Document analysis involves skimming (superficial examination), reading (thorough exam- ination), and interpretation. This iterative process combines elements of content analysis and thematic analysis. Content analysis is the process of organising information into categories related to the central questions of the blogger.comted Reading Time: 9 mins
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Click here to sign up. Download Free PDF. Document Analysis as a Qualitative Research Method Qualitative Research Journal, Glenn A Bowen. Download PDF Download Full PDF Package This paper. A short summary of this paper. Document Analysis as a Qualitative Research Method, dissertation documentary analysis. Document Analysis as a Qualitative Research Method Glenn A.
DOI This is a dissertation documentary analysis article. ABSTRACT This article examines the function of documents as a data source in qualitative research and discusses document analysis procedure in the context of actual research experiences.
Targeted to research novices, the article takes a nuts-and-bolts approach to document analysis. It describes the nature and forms of documents, outlines the advantages and limitations of document analysis, and offers specific examples of the use of documents in the research process, dissertation documentary analysis. The application of document analysis to a dissertation documentary analysis theory study is illustrated.
Keywords: Content analysis, documents, grounded theory, thematic analysis, triangulation, dissertation documentary analysis. Organisational and institutional documents have been a staple in qualitative research for many years. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of research reports and journal articles that mention document analysis as part of the methodology.
What has been rather glaring is the absence of sufficient detail in most reports found in the reviewed literature, regarding the procedure followed and the outcomes of the analyses of documents. Moreover, there is some indication that document analysis has not always been used effectively in the research process, even by experienced researchers. This article examines the place and function of documents in qualitative research. Written mainly for research novices, the article describes the nature and forms of documents, outlines the strengths and weaknesses of document analysis, and offers specific examples of the use of documents in the research process.
Suggestions for doing document analysis are included. The fundamental purpose of this dissertation documentary analysis is to increase knowledge and understanding of document analysis as a qualitative research method with a view to promoting its effective use.
DEFINING DOCUMENT ANALYSIS Document analysis is a systematic procedure for reviewing or evaluating documents—both printed and electronic computer-based and Internet-transmitted material, dissertation documentary analysis. For the purposes of this discussion, other mute or trace evidence, such as cultural artifacts, is not included. Documents that may be used for systematic evaluation as part of a study take a variety of forms. They include advertisements; agendas, attendance registers, and minutes of meetings; manuals; background papers; books and brochures; diaries and journals; event programs i.
Scrapbooks and photo albums can also furnish documentary material for research purposes. These types of documents are found in libraries, newspaper archives, historical society offices, dissertation documentary analysis, and organisational or institutional files.
Researchers typically review prior literature as part of their studies and incorporate that information in their reports. However, where a list of analysed documents is provided, it often does not include previous studies.
Surely, previous studies are a source of data, requiring that the researcher rely on the description and interpretation of data rather than having the raw data dissertation documentary analysis a basis for analysis.
The analytic procedure entails finding, selecting, appraising making sense ofand syn- thesising data contained in documents. Document analysis yields data—excerpts, quotations, or entire passages—that are then organised into major themes, categories, and case examples specifically through content analysis Labuschagne, The qualitative researcher is expected to draw upon multiple at least two sources of evidence; that is, to seek convergence and corroboration through the use of different data sources and methods, dissertation documentary analysis.
Apart from documents, such sources include interviews, participant or non-participant observation, and physical artifacts Yin, By examining information collected through dif- ferent methods, the researcher can corroborate findings across data sets and thus reduce the impact of potential biases that can exist in a single study.
Mixed-methods studies which combine quantitative and qualitative research techniques sometimes include document analysis. Here is an example: In their large-scale, three-year evaluation of regional educational service agencies RESAsdissertation documentary analysis, Rossman and Wilson combined quantitative and qualitative methods—surveys to collect quantitative data and open-ended, semistructured interviews with reviews of documents as the primary sources of dissertation documentary analysis data.
The document reviews were designed to identify the agencies that played a role in supporting school improvement programs. Also, Sogunro used questionnaires combined with interviews, document analyses, and direct observations to examine the impact of training on leadership development. Specific leadership competencies or skills dissertation documentary analysis identified also through a review of program documents.
Glenn A. Bowen,'Document Analysis as a Qualitative Research Method' 29 As a research method, document analysis is particularly applicable to qualitative case studies—intensive studies producing rich descriptions of a single phenomenon, event, organ- isation, or program Stake, ; Yin, Angers and Machtmes reported that they analysed documents as part of their ethnographic case study, which explored the beliefs, context factors, and dissertation documentary analysis of middle- school teachers that led exemplarily to a technology-enriched curriculum.
The authors stressed the need to triangulate the study methods which also included observations and interviews so as to validate and corroborate data obtained during the study. However, Angers and Machtmes failed to identify the documents analysed—even the nature or type of docu- ments—and the analytical procedure employed. It is important to note here that qualitative research requires robust data collection techniques and the documentation of the research procedure.
Detailed information about how the study was designed and conducted should be provided in the dissertation documentary analysis report, dissertation documentary analysis. Whereas document analysis has served mostly as a complement to other research methods, it has also been used as a stand-alone method. Indeed, there are some specialised forms of qualitative research that rely solely on the analysis of documents. For historical and cross-cultural research, relying on prior studies may be the only realistic approach Merriam, In his dissertation research, Gagel conducted an in-depth analysis of publications on literacy and technology, dissertation documentary analysis, following a process known as hermen- eutic inquiry.
The rationale for document analysis lies in its role in methodological and data triangula- tion, the immense value of documents in case study research, and its usefulness as a stand- alone method for specialised forms of qualitative research. Understandably, documents may be the only necessary data source for studies designed within an interpretive paradigm, as in hermeneutic inquiry; or it may simply be the only viable source, as in historical and cross- cultural research. In other types of research, the investigator should guard against over-reliance on documents.
SPECIFIC USES OF DOCUMENTS Documents can serve a variety of purposes as part of a research undertaking. Let us consider five specific functions of documentary material, dissertation documentary analysis. First, as indicated above, documents can provide data on the context within which research participants operate—a case of text providing context, if one might turn a phrase.
Bearing witness dissertation documentary analysis past events, documents provide background information as well as historical insight. The researcher can use data drawn from documents, for example, to contextu- alise data collected during interviews.
Second, information contained in documents can suggest some questions that need to be asked and situations that need to be observed as part of the research.
For example, Goldstein and Reiboldt did document analysis to dissertation documentary analysis generate new interview questions as they conducted a longitudinal ethnographic study of service use among families living in poor dissertation documentary analysis communities. Their research demonstrated how one method can complement another in an interactive way. Third, documents provide supplementary research data. Information and insights derived from documents can be valuable additions to a knowledge base.
Researchers should therefore browse library catalogues and archives for documents to be analysed as part of the research process. In her study of closure of technology teacher education programs, a university-based scholar used newspaper reports, university policy documents, and department self-evaluation data to supplement data gained through interviews Hoepfl,as cited in Hoepfl, Similarly, Hansen analysed journal entries and memos written by participants, as a supplement to interview data, in his study of dissertation documentary analysis teachers in training.
For their part, Connell, Lynch and Waring separately employed document analysis in their invest- igations of the social milieu within organisations.
They used document dissertation documentary analysis to supplement data from other sources, such as semi-structured interviews and observation, as they developed a number of case studies. Fourth, documents provide a means of tracking change and development. Where various drafts of a particular document are accessible, the researcher can compare them to identify the changes, dissertation documentary analysis. Even subtle changes in a draft can reflect substantive developments in a project, for example Yin, The researcher may also examine periodic and final reports where available to get a clear picture of how an organisation or a program fared over time.
Fifth, documents can be analysed as a way to verify findings or corroborate evidence from other sources. If the documentary evidence is contradictory rather than corroboratory, the researcher is expected to investigate further.
When there is convergence of information from different sources, readers of the research report usually have greater confidence in the trustworthiness credibility of the findings.
Atkinson and Coffeyadvise researchers to consider carefully whether and how documents can serve particular research purposes. As the authors emphasise: We should not use documentary sources as surrogates for other kinds of data. We cannot, for instance, learn through records alone how an organization actually operates day-by-day.
On the contrary, our recognition of their existence as social facts alerts us to the necessity to treat them very seriously indeed, dissertation documentary analysis. We have to approach them for what they are and what they are used to accomplish. Bowen,'Document Analysis as a Qualitative Research Method' 31 from other data sources.
Moreover, documents may be the most effective means of gathering data when events can no longer be observed or when informants have forgotten the details. Let us look first at the advantages. It requires data selection, instead of data collection. This makes document analysis an attractive option for qualitative researchers.
An important maxim to keep in mind is that if a public event happened, some official record of it most likely exists. The data contained in documents have already been gathered; what remains is for the content and quality of the documents to be evaluated. Previous studies found in documents are not being considered here.
Therefore, document analysis counters the concerns related to reflexivity or the lack of it inherent in other qualitative research methods.
Group 4.1 Document Analysis
, time: 2:45(PDF) Document Analysis as a Qualitative Research Method | Glenn A Bowen - blogger.com
Feb 06, · Dissertation and Documentary Analysis. February 6, · by oursquirrel · in Major Project. ·. This core research of this project is outlined entirely in my dissertation, which was also founded through my initial research essay on animated documentary. dissertation_ryanhollinger_bEstimated Reading Time: 5 mins ANALYSING DOCUMENTS Document analysis involves skimming (superficial examination), reading (thorough exam- ination), and interpretation. This iterative process combines elements of content analysis and thematic analysis. Content analysis is the process of organising information into categories related to the central questions of the blogger.comted Reading Time: 9 mins Documentary analysis is a popular method in a wide range of social sciences, as well as the arts. In essence, it means taking a systematic approach to understanding and interpreting documents. It can be used as a research method in history, looking at archives of soldiers’ diaries, for example. It can be used in politics, looking at patterns
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