documents (secondary) Flashcards
what are documents
secondary data created by individuals, groups and organisations which can be analysed. they include: written text, images, audio and video.
what is content analysis
analysis of documents
what are the different types of documents
personal documents
public documents
what are personal documents
letters, diaries, memoirs, autobiographies, notes and photo collections
what are public documents
reports from government, charities and businesses
what is thematic content analysis
analysis of qualitative research
what is systematic content analysis
objective and quantitative description of quantitative research
what data do documents contain
mainly qualitative data that expresses the beliefs and meanings held by individuals and organisations.
however, some contain statistical data as well e.g. the Black Report into health inequalities.
when is a document authentic
if the document is true and free from error
when is a document credible
if the document is believable with a sincere author
when is a document representative
if evidence is typical and can be generalised
example of a document
Thomand and Znaniecki used public documents e.g. newspaper articles and personal documents e.g. letters to study migration and social change, whilst interested in people’s personal experiences of these events, and revealing the meanings of migrants
what are Scott’s four tests of any document
- authenticity
- credibility
- representativeness
- meaning
what documents do positivists favour
public documents and systematic analysis:
- produced quantifiable, reliable data
- objectivity
- cause and effect relationships
- patterns can be generalised
what documents do interpretivists favour
personal documents and thematic analysis:
- authentic, as written without research in mind
- qualitative data gives insight to meanings
advantages of historical documents
- allow comparisons to be made with the past, to recognise change across time
- no deception involved, as no participants
- few interpersonal skills needed, as there is no face-to-face interaction
disadvantages of historical documents
- skills requires e.g. translating old language, interpreting numerical documents
- difficult to judge authenticity of some documents, as they may not be what they claim to be
- analysing data is down to subjective interpretation, so bias could influence validity
advantages of personal documents
- mostly written for personal purposes, so high validity gives a genuine insight into the life of the author, providing verstehen
- few interpersonal skills needed
- most are cheap, and save researcher time
disadvantages of personal documents
- some groups e.g. illiterate are unlikely to produce these documents, so will be unrepresented, whereas those with necessary skills will be over-represented
- difficult to access e.g. diaries
- certain documents require informed consent
- documents with sensitive information need to be handled carefully, maintaining confidentiality
- documents e.g. letters are written with an audience in mind, which may affect authenticity
- personal bias is likely to be present
advantages of public documents
- often cheap and readily available
- no deception, as no participants
- no need for informed consent, as documents are already released to the public
- often already anonymised
- few interpersonal skills needed, as no face-to-face interaction
disadvantages of public documents
- skills are needed to interpret messages and themes
- analysing data is down to subjective interpretation and so bias could influence the validity of results
evaluation of systematic content analysis
- requires less skill to interpret underlying meanings of data
- quantitative and objective, so favoured by positivists
evaluation of thematic content analysis
- requires skills of interpretation, so is open to subjectivity
- data is higher in validity, and greater in depth, which provides more detailed understanding of the data and research topic, so favoured by interpretivists
practical strengths of using documents
- cheap and easy access (public)
- not time-consuming in data consumption
- few interpersonal skills needed
- sometimes only source on the past
- can be used in triangulation to check results from a primary method
