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Documentary Research Method: New Dimensions

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Indus Journal of Management & Social Sciences, 4(1):1-14 (Spring 2010) http://ideas.repec.org/s/iih/journl.html

Documentary Research Method: New Dimensions

Jashim Uddin Ahmed1

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the documentary research method (DSM) in social research and aims to provide
a general understanding of the DSM as well as specific tools for its successful implementation. In
recent years, although a number of social research scholars discuss the importance of documentary
research but this method has had little attention as compared to other methods. The DSM tools can
be utilized in all fields where the documentary method is prominent, including business,
anthropology, communications, economics, education, medicine, political science, social work, and
sociology. In social science research the use of documentary sources is often overlooked. This paper
argues that although the documentary research method is not very popular in social science research
but it is nevertheless acceptable as a scientific research method. This article reveals assessing the
validity of documentary data as well as the value of documentary research.

JEL. Classification: D80; D83; I20;

Keywords: Documentary Research, Qualitative research, Research methodology, new dimensions

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

‘Research’ is a particular form of enquiry. It is not possible to do research without having a

problem, which needs to be solved, or a question, which needs to be answered (Ahmed and Huda,
2006). Easterby-Smith, Thorpe and Lowe (1999: 9) stressed “research is always hedged about with
uncertainty and risk.” According to Ahmed (2009), research is a part of a wider process that
constitutes and renders a subject, amenable to study in a distinctive way. However, it is concerned
with seeking solutions to problems or answers to questions. Gillham (2000: 2) offered the following
definition of research:

Research is about creating new knowledge, whether the disciplines be - history, medicine, physics
or social work. The raw material of research is evidence, which then has to be made sense of.
Similarly, Marshall and Rossman (1995) argued that research is a process of trying to gain a better

The material presented by the author does not necessarily represent the viewpoint of editors and the management of the Indus
Institute of higher education as well as the author’ institute.
1
Assistant Professor, School of Business, North South University, Block # B, Bashundhara R/A, Dhaka-1229, Bangladesh ,
E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]

Acknowledgements: Authors would like to thank the editors and anonymous referees for their comments and insight in
improving the draft copy of this article. Author further would like to declare that this manuscript is original and has not
previously been published, and that it is not currently on offer to another publisher; and also transfer copy rights to the
publisher of this journal.

Received: 05-01-2010; Revised: 03-03-2010; Accepted: 15-06-2010; Published: 30-06-2010

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understanding of the complexities. Bassey (1999: 38) offered the definition of scientific research as
“systematic, critical and self-critical enquiry, which aims to contribute to the advancement of
knowledge and wisdom.” Mason (1996: 4) also agreed that research should be “systematically and
rigorously conducted.” These qualities are apparently what Bassey (1999) and Mason (1996) stated
as “systematic”. Research dealt with the discovery of answers to “who, what, when, where, how”
questions rather than the “why” questions. As Phillips and Pugh (1994: 45) put it:
…. research aims to re-orientate our thinking, to make us question what we think we do know, and
to focus on new aspects of our complex reality.

As a bare minimum we may tentatively define research as an inquiry carried out to secure
information for solving problems. Whether the research is simple or complex, sophisticated or
primitive, scientific or non-scientific, useful or useless depends on its objectives, its design, and the
skill and integrity with which it is conducted (Ahmed and Huda 2006).

1.2. What is Documentary Research?

A broad definition of a document is a ‘written text’. Document “must be studied as socially situated
products” (Scott, 1990: 34). It is defined as “any written material other than a record that was not
prepared specifically in response to some requests from the investigator” (Guba and Lincoln, 1981:
228). Silverman (1993) has provided a classification of documents as i) files, ii) statistical records,
iii) records of official proceedings and iv) images. Guba and Lincoln (1981) distinguish between
documents and records. They define a record as “any written statement prepared by an individual or
an agency for the purpose of attesting to an event or providing an accounting” (Guba and Lincoln,
1981: 228). Doing documentary research is much more than “recording facts”. It is a reflexive
process in which we confront what researcher calls the “moral underpinnings of social inquiry”
(Coles, 1997: 6). “Documents do not stand alone” (Atkinson and Coffey 1997: 55), but need to be
situated within a theoretical frame of reference in order that its content is understood. It is an
important source of information, and such sources of data might be used in various ways in social
research. Many researchers (Bailey 1982; 1994; Polit and Hungler 1991, Treece and Treece 1982;
Webb, Campbell, Schwarz and Sechrest 1984) stated that document researches include institutional
memoranda and reports, census publications, government pronouncements and proceedings, diaries
and innumerable other written, visual and pictorial sources in different forms and so on. In a similar
view, Denscombe (1998: 163) advocates, “government publications and official statistics would
seem to be an attractive proposition for the social researcher.”

This research method is often marginalized or when used, it only acts as a supplement to the other
general social research methods. Documentary research method refers to the analysis of documents
that contains information about the phenomenon we wish to study (Bailey 1994). The documentary
research method is used in investigating and categorizing physical sources, most commonly written
documents, whether in the private or public domain (Payne and Payne 2004). This research method
is just as good as and sometimes even more cost effective than the social surveys, in-depth interview
or participant observation.

Documentary research has been a staple of social research since its earliest inception.
Documentary products are especially important for the ethnographer, providing a “rich vein for
analysis” (Hammersley and Atkinson, 1995: 173). Along with surveys and ethnography,
documentary research is one of the three major types of social research and arguably has been the
most widely used of the three, throughout the history of sociology and other social sciences. It has
been the principal method, sometimes even the only one - for leading sociologists. Numerous
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organizations and work settings are concerned with the production and consumption of records and
documentary data. Well-known analyses of such processes and products include: school reports
(Woods 1979); medical records (Rees 1981); classifications of causes of death (Prior 1985); and
health visitors’ case records (Dingwall 1977). The key issues surrounding the types of documents
and the ability to use them as reliable sources of evidence on the social world must be considered by
all who use documents in their research. The paucity of sources available until now means that, this
compendium will be invaluable to social researchers. (http://en.wikipedia.org). Social science uses a
wide variety of research methods to improve knowledge, theory, practice and policy in the field.
The different types of research methods, quantitative and qualitative, are linked to epistemological
and theoretical frameworks. Using this type of material in a research study means that the
documents are recorded as secondary data sources in the fact that they contain material, “not
specifically gathered for the research question at hand” (Stewart 1984:11).

2. HANDLING DOCUMENTARY SOURCES

Handling documentary sources are not different from those applied to other areas of social research.
In every case, data must be handled scientifically. Scott (1990) has formulated quality control
criteria for handling documentary sources. These are: authenticity, credibility, representativeness
and meaning. Authenticity refers to whether the evidence is genuine and from implacable source;
credibility refers to whether the evidence is typical of its kind; representativeness refers to whether
the documents consulted are representative of the totality of the relevant documents, and meaning
refers to whether the evidence is clear and comprehensible. According to Scott (1990: 6), these
“criteria of authenticity, credibility, representativeness and meaning should not be regarded as
distinct phases in assessing the quality of documentary sources.” They should not be applied in a
rigid and formalistic way as well, the criteria should rather be seen as all interdependent and the
researcher can not adequately use one criterion to the exclusion of others.

2.1 Authenticity

Authenticity refers to the truthfulness of origins; evidence is genuine, attributions, commitments,

sincerity, devotion, and intentions. Authenticity of an evidence for analysis is the fundamental
criterion in any research. The researcher therefore has a duty and a responsibility to ensure that the
document he is consulting is genuine and has integrity. It is the same way as interviewer must be
sure of the identity of the interviewee, or the participant observer must be sure that he is in the right
place and that the activities he is observing are not stage managed for his benefit, but the ‘normal’
activity he intended to go and observe. There are, however, many instances where documents may
not be what they purport or appear to be. For example wills, legal documents, diaries and letters can
be forged or falsified, and even literary works might be attributed to authors who did not write them
(Platt 1981). It places an enormous responsibility on the researcher to satisfy them that the
documents being analyzed are not forgeries and indeed what they purport to be. Documents,
therefore, should not be taken for granted. According to Platt (1981) circumstances may arise that
necessitate a close scrutiny of a document. Such circumstances include the following:

(a) When the document does not make sense or has obvious errors;
(b) When there are internal inconsistencies in terms of style, content and so on;
(c) When there are different versions of the same document;
(d) When the version available is derived from a dubious, suspicious or unreliable secondary source;
and
(e) When the document has been in the hands of a person or persons with vested interest in a
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particular reading of the text.

After establishing the authenticity of a document, the researcher must also authenticate the
authorship of the document, that is, verify that the name inscribed on the document is that of the
author. Instances exist where authors have been incorrectly named, or where documents were falsely
presented as being the work of certain known personalities, such as - the Hitler Diaries (Scott,
1990).

2.2 Credibility
Credibility refers to the objective and subjective components of the believability of a source or
message, whether the evidence is free from error and distortion. According to Wikipedia (2009),
credibility has two key components: trustworthiness and expertise, which both have objective and
subjective components. Trustworthiness is based more on subjective factors, but can include
objective measurements such as established reliability. In the same way, expertise can be
subjectively perceived, but also includes relatively objective characteristics of the source or message
(e.g., credentials, certification or information quality). Secondary components of credibility include
the source dynamism (charisma) and physical attractiveness.

According to Scott (1990), the question of credibility should concern the extent to which an
observer is sincere in the choice of a point of view and in the attempt to record an accurate account
from that chosen standpoint. The researcher must ascertain that the documents they are consulting
are free from distortion, prepared independently and beforehand and most importantly, the
documents are not produced for the benefit of the researcher, or deliberately altered to mislead the
researcher. The need to establish credibility of documents is no less important in documentary
research than in other research methods, such as survey methods, where the respondent’s credibility
in an interview depends on the extent to which the views expressed are made honestly, regardless of
the fact that respondents could have erred in fact or in judgment of the situation. Some researchers
might rely on newspapers as the sources of their information. Whilst newspapers can be used as
documentary sources, it is advisable to ignore the reporters’ comments and opinions on events and
occurrences, and to concentrate only on factual press statements or interviews. Any newspaper
commentary used must be acknowledged, but not passed as fact.

There is always a possibility that an incorrect entry could be made in a document. For instance,
some figures in the Labour Statistics Bulletins do not always add up. However, this should be
regarded as a genuine error and not a fraudulent activity to mislead the public. In other words, a
genuine error does not undermine the credibility of the sources, especially as it can be detected and
corrected. With regard to consultancy reports, it is also relatively easy to establish their authenticity
because these documents are not acquired from unreliable sources. They are collected from the
consumers of the reports such as government.

2.3 Representativeness

The question of representativeness applies more to some documents than to others.

Representativeness refers to whether the evidence is typical of its kind or not, to the extent of its un-
typicality known. Documents, such as the Household Income and Expenditure Surveys, are prepared
by professional statisticians using generally accepted sampling frames and random selection
procedures. This is clear from the methodology section of these reports. The fact that some of the
findings might actually be embarrassing to the government testifies to their representativeness and
authenticity. But as to whether the documents consulted are representative of the totality of the
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entire relevant documents pertaining to a specific issue under investigation is difficult to say. This is
particularly the case with official government documents.

2..4 Meaning
Meaning refers to whether the evidence is clear and comprehensible. The ultimate purpose of
examining documents is to arrive at an understanding of the meaning and significance of what the
document contains (Scott 1990). However, what documents contain can have either a literal or face
value meaning and an interpretative meaning. Another important point to be considered in the use
of documentary sources is how to decide which inference to make from a document about matters
other than the truth of its factual assertions (Platt, 1981). To this end the researcher may augment
documentary data by in-depth interviews with a few key informants, that is, people who are familiar
with and or knowledgeable about the social phenomenon under investigation. The tradition or
conventional way amongst social scientists is the other way round to augment social surveys and in–
depth interviews with documentary research! But the interviews can help one get the feel of what is
happening through the perceptions of these key informants, something that a researcher may not
deduce or easily infer from documents. Interviews with key informants can assist a researcher to
subject the documents to additional and even more rigorous interrogation. Interviews can help
capture certain perceptions, attitudes, views and feelings, and the meanings and the interpretations
that people have given to certain events and situations, and to detect any conflicting attitudes and
interpretations of the same events and situations (Hakim, 1987).

Needless to say, these developments place extra burden on the user of documentary sources when it
comes to establishing the authenticity, credibility, representativeness and meaning of documentary
sources.

3. CHARACTERISTICS OF DOCUMENTARY METHODS

Documentary methods differ from primary research data where the researcher is responsible for the
entire research process from the design of the project, to collecting, analyzing and discussing the
research data (Stewart, 1984). Judd, Smith and Kidder (1991: 289) distinguish three common
characteristics of documentary methods such as:

• they rely entirely on the analyses of data collected for purposes other than those of particular
studies in social relations;
• documentary studies often call for ingenuity in translating existing records into quantifiable
indices of some general concepts;
• documentary studies are particularly susceptible to alternative interpretations for the natural
events and their effects.

4. METHODS OF DOCUMENTARY DATA ANALYSIS

In social research, the data analysis method has been discussed by many social science
commentators (Coffey and Atkinson, 1996; Dey, 1993; Marshall and Rossman, 1995; Miles and
Huberman, 1994; Silverman, 1993; Weber, 1990). “‘Analysis’ involves breaking data down into
bits, and then ‘beating’ the bits together. The word ‘analysis’ derives from the prefix ‘ana’ meaning
‘above’, and the Greek ‘lyis’ meaning ‘to break up or dissolve’” (Bohm, 1983: 156). According to
Blaxter, Hughes and Tight (1996: 185), “analysis is about the search for explanation and
understanding, in the course of which concepts and theories are likely to be advanced, considered
and developed.” Data analysis brings all data together and then it progresses to reveal the contents
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of quality data, demonstrating an ongoing process of resolving the collected research data into its
constituent components. Data analysis leads to putting the collected data into shape, and to
suggesting how it might be analysed and interpreted. Indeed, Marshall and Rossman (1995: 111)
discussing this issue, state “data analysis is the process of bringing order, structure, and meaning to
the mass of collected data.”

In a mixed methods research (quantitative and qualitative research) approach is employed for data
collection purposes, in which respect, Blaxter et al. (1996: 177) note:

It may be that qualitative data offers more detail about the subject under consideration, while
quantitative data appears to provide more precision, but both give only a partial description. Neither
are ‘facts’ in anything but a very subjective sense. The accuracy of the representation is also likely
to be reduced further during the research process, as we attempt to summarise or draw out key
points from the vastness of the data available.

But in qualitative data analysis an external structure is imposed on the data, which makes analysis
far more straightforward. With qualitative data, however, the structure used must first be derived
from the data, which means systematically analysing it so as to tease out themes, patterns and
categories (Easterby-Smith et al., 1999). Punch (1998: 199) stresses, “there is no single right way to
do qualitative data analysis - no single methodological framework.” Therefore, methods of data
analysis need to be systematic and well structured (Punch, 1998). Mason (1996: 147) identified:
In the process of data analysis and the presentation of your explanation to others, you should
therefore revisit those difficult questions, which you asked yourself about linking research
questions, methodology and methods, when you were designing your research.

Similarly, Miles and Huberman (1994) describe analysing data, which is directed at tracing out
lawful and stable relationships among social phenomena, based on the regularities and sequences
that link these phenomena. The processes of data analysis would entail three main components -
data reduction, data display and drawing and verifying conclusions- and give an overall view of data
analysis (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Components of Data Analysis: Interactive Model

Data collection Data display

Drawing and
Data reduction verifying conclusions

Source: Miles and Huberman, (1994, p. 12), Qualitative Data Analysis

These processes occur in three different time phases - before data collection, during data collection
as interim and early analyses are carried out; and after data collection as final products are
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approached and completed (Miles and Huberman, 1994).

4.1 Data Reduction

Data reduction is the translation of information from one form to another form to simplify problems
of analysis, storage, and dissemination to others (Selltiz, Wrightsman and Cook, 1981). As Weber
(1990: 41) argues: “…there is too much information in texts. Their richness and detail preclude
analysis without some form of data reduction.” The prime objective of data reduction is to reduce
the data without significant loss of information. Each reduction act would help to bring the masses
of data into more manageable proportions, thereby making them easier to comprehend and work
with. Initially, a researcher takes a voluminous amount of information and reduces it to certain
patterns and themes and then interprets this information by using some schema. Tesch (1990) called
this process “de-contextualization” and “re-contextualization”, which result in a “higher level”
analysis: “While much work in the analysis process consists of ‘taking apart’ (for instance, into
smaller pieces), the final goal is the emergence of a larger, consolidated picture” (Tesch, 1990: 97).
Therefore, data reduction occurs continually throughout the analysis. The early stage of data
reduction happens through editing, segmenting and summarising the unstructured data (Tesch,
1990).

In the middle stages, it happens through coding and memoing, and associated activities such as
finding themes, clusters and patterns (Bogdan and Biklen, 1992). Punch (1998: 204) expresses his
two views about coding, “on the one hand, coding is analysis. On the other hand, coding is the
specific and concrete activity, which starts the analysis. … in the sense that coding both begins the
analysis, and also goes on at different levels throughout the analysis.” While coding happens, at
whatever level, all sorts of ideas occur to the analyst. These become the stuff of memos that record
the ideas. Miles and Huberman (1994: 72) explain:

A memo is the theorising write-up of ideas about codes and their relationships as they strike the
analyst while coding … it can be a sentence, a paragraph or a few pages. … it exhausts the analyst’s
momentary ideation based on data with perhaps a little conceptual elaboration.

Thereafter, in the later stages, it happens through conceptualising and explaining, since developing
abstract concepts is also a way of reducing the data.

4.2 Data Display

Data display as the process of presenting and analysing the data. Miles and Huberman (1984, 1994)
address the importance of creating a data display and suggest that narrative text has been the most
frequent form of display for qualitative data. They have no doubt that better displays are a major
avenue to valid qualitative analysis. There are many different ways of displaying data - charts,
diagrams - and any way that moves the analysis forward is appropriate. Displaying data in these
structures would force the researchers to consider what was known and not known about the
phenomenon in question, and could suggest new relationships, propositions, and explanations for
further analysis. Data display reflects on the main issue of research. As Miller and Glassner (1997:
101) observe:

Numerous levels of representation occur from the moment of ‘primary experience’ to the reading of
the researchers’ textual presentation of findings, including the levels of attending to the experience,
telling it to the researcher, transcribing and analysing what is told, and the reading.
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Therefore, displays are used at all stages, since they enable data to be organised and summarised,
they show what stage the analysis has reached, and they are the basis for further analysis. Good
qualitative analysis involves repeated and iterative displays of data (Punch, 1998).

4.3 Data Drawing and Verifying Conclusions

The reasons for reducing and displaying data are to assist in drawing conclusions. While drawing
conclusions logically follows reduction and display of data, in fact it takes place more or less
concurrently with them. Thus, possible conclusions may be noted early in the analysis, but they may
be vague and ill-formed at this stage. They are not finalised until all the data are in, and have been
analysed. The conclusions would become more explicit as they were verified by the data in
increasingly grounded analyses. The first two, data reduction and display, rest mainly on the
operations of coding and memoing. For each part of the third component, drawing and then
verifying conclusions, the researcher relies on interpretations. As Marshall and Rossman (1995:
129) comment, “all three would combine to present a comprehensive and robust explanation of the
successes and challenge of implementing inclusion initiatives.”

5. USING DOCUMENTARY SOURCES IN SOCIAL RESEARCH

Although the use of documentary sources may not be very popular in mainstream social research,
documentary research is not new. It has been extensively used by such classical social theorists as
Karl Marx (1818–1883) and Emile Durkheim (1858-1917), for example. Marx made extensive use
of documentary sources and other official reports, such as, Her Majesty Inspectors of Factories
Reports made between 1841 and 1867 (spanning over a period of 26 years), reports by the Medical
Officer of the Privy Council, Royal Commission and Inland Revenue Reports, as well as reports on
the employment of children in factories, the Banking Acts, the Corn laws, the Hansard and Census
Reports for England and Wales. He also referred to various Acts and Statutes, such as, the Factory
Regulations Acts of between 1833 and 1878 (spanning over a period of about 45 years). Marx also
used newspapers and periodicals, such as, The Times, Economist and New York Daily Tribune
(Harvey 1990). On the other hand, Durkheim, who is credited as one of the founding fathers of the
discipline of Sociology, relied on official statistics in his study of suicide. Durkheim made extensive
use of statistical information on suicide waves in a number of European countries, looking among
other things at suicide records by religious affiliation, race, age group, gender, marital status, class,
economic position and occupation. According to Simpson (1952) Durkheim’s book on Suicide is
regarded as the first modern example of a consistent and organized use of statistical method in
social research. At a time when statistical techniques were poorly developed, Durkheim managed to
establish relationships between series of data by methodological perseverance and inference. He was
able to establish the fact that, suicide, which looks like a very individual and personal act, is in fact
induced, perpetuated or aggravated by certain social conditions. Needless to say, the use of
documentary sources in sociological research is not something confined in Europe. It can be argued
that ‘literature review’ is in fact one very good example of documentary research that even the
skeptics of documentary research carry out unconsciously. All research projects always require a
section on ‘Literature Review’. On the basis of a comprehensive literature review on a particular
topic, a researcher can be able to formulate a conceptual or theoretical framework within which to
locate data analysis. As Mogalakwe (2006a) demonstrates through a review of literature,
information from secondary sources can be reconfigured and reinterpreted to yield new insights into
a particular social phenomenon.

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6. VALIDITY AND CRITICISMS OF DOCUMENTARY METHOD

The documentary research method has been incorrectly identified with the professional historian,
librarians and information science specialists, whilst the social surveys and in-depth interview
methods have been associated with the professional sociologist in particular and the social scientist
in general. Social scientists use the documentary research method only to supplement information
collected through social surveys and in-depth interviews, but seldom is this method used as the main
or principal research method. Scott (1990) argues quite correctly that textbooks on research
methods have generally failed to recognize this research method, and have given most of their space
to discussions of questionnaires, interviews and participant observation. This bias creates an
imbalance that should be rectified. In this paper, we make a case for the use of the documentary
research method and argue that the use of documentary research method in social research is a
respected research method which should be utilized by social scientists with full confidence. It is
also a scientific method that requires rigorous adherence to research ethics. This paper does not give
an in-depth exposition of documentary research methods. The task has been ably dealt with
elsewhere (Platt, 1981; Scott, 1990). The purpose is much more modest, namely to introduce the
topic to those who are not familiar with it, or to demonstrate the applicability of this research
method to those who are just skeptical.

May (1997: 164) observes, “[documents] … do not simply reflect, but also construct social reality
and versions of events. The search of documents’ ‘meaning’ continues, but with researchers also
exercising ‘suspicion’. It is not then assumed that documents are neutral artefacts, which
independently report social reality (positivism), or that analysis must be rooted in that nebulous
concept, practical reasoning.” Inspite of their strengths, documentary methods are criticized by
many social science researchers because of their data collection nature. As Denscombe (1998: 170)
comments:

• While using documents as a source of data, researchers generally rely on something that has
been produced for other purposes and not for the specific aims of the investigation.
• Documents can owe more to the interpretations of the producers of documents than to an
objective picture of reality.
• Documentary research is regarded as being not clear-cut, not having a method and nothing on
how a researcher uses it (http://uk.geocities.com). There are several criticisms of documentary
research methods.
• Given its social context and identity, the researcher will give a selective and biased
understanding of a document, and may even deliberately chose and select particular documents.
This is a common criticism against researchers using any technique of data collection.
• Inevitably, authors of documents will decide to record and leave out information informed by
their social, political and economic environment of which they are part. Historical documents,
thus, are amenable to manipulation and selective influence. In undertaking documentary
research, researchers should be aware of these influences and not assume that documents are
simply neutral artifact from the past. Indeed, uncritical readings of texts can reproduce and
reinforce marginalization of groups, such as working class, women and ethnicities.
• While new technologies (e.g., the internet) offer possibilities for acquiring documents,
researchers have to exercise a critical reflexivity since much of the documents on the internet
are produced by powerful political, cultural and economic groups, who want to ensure that
particular images reach the public domain, and wish to counter bad images with more favorable
representations.

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• While digital technology (e.g., computers) provides opportunities for new forms of research, it
should be remembered that it lends to the creation, modification, destruction and replacement of
information with very little effort and cost.
• More generally, using documents without due consideration to the process and social context of
their construction, leaves researchers (especially semioticians) open to the charge of being
unreflexive and uncritical in their ‘readings’.

In analyzing the documents it was not feasible to address criterion-related validity- “This is the
validity estimated by comparing the test outcome with one or more external variables, or criteria,
known or assumed to measure the attribute under consideration” (Herbert, 1990: 52). Another major
issue for document is the construct validity and reliability of the data for research purposes (Webb et
al., 1981). Construct validity in relation to the documents would be concerned with the extent to
which the results of applying the documents reflect the underlying theoretical concepts, the
vulnerability indices. This would be “the extent to which the theoretical concepts have been
successfully operationalised” (Polit and Hungler, 1991: 650).

A further strength of the use of documentary evidence is its non reactivity (Webb et al., 1984: 114),
the fact that records tend to be unbiased as the documents are collated usually for other purposes. As
Bailey notes ‘the data collection methods itself generally does not change the data being collected’
(Bailey, 1982: 303). The researcher is not in a position to bias subjects and the authors of documents
are unlikely to assume their future use in research studies. Another advantage is the fact that the
researcher can obtain data without being present in the field.

The literature reveals the disadvantages and weaknesses of documentary data (Bailey, 1982; 1994;
Treece and Treece, 1982; Stewart, 1984; Webb et al., 1984; While 1987; Hakim, 1993).
Documentary analysis is limited by the availability of material, missing or incomplete data,
inaccuracies in material and inherent biases. Webb et al. identify the major sources of bias in
documentary evidence when they describe the two problems of ‘selective deposit’ and ‘selective
survival’ (Webb et al., 1984: 114).

Table 1: Some Advantages and Disadvantages of using Documentary Method

Advantages Disadvantages
1) Data readily available. 1) Limited by the availability of data.
2) Inexpensive and economical form of data. 2) Inaccuracies in original material.
3) Save time. 3) Bias - ‘selective deposit’.
4) ‘Non-reactivity’ - records unbiased by data 4) Bias – ‘selective survival’ - missing/incomplete
collection process. data.
5) Researcher does not have to be present
during data collection. 5) Total document or part of document?
6) Useful for hypothesis / problem
formulation. 6) Data studied out of context.
7) Preparation before analysis.

Source: Appleton and Cowley (1997), Journal of Advance Nursing, 25, 1008-1017.

As Bailey notes, “many documents provide an incomplete account to the researcher who has had no

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prior experience with or knowledge of the events …” (Bailey, 1982: 305). The content of a
document might be judged to be appropriate if a literature review has been undertaken which
informs and supports its content (Grimshaw and Russell, 1993). However, these methods
demonstrate a number of strengths and weaknesses. So, these methods are used only if and when the
strengths outweigh the weaknesses. Denscombe (1998: 169) states they generally provide:

a source of data, which is permanent and available in a form that can be checked by others. The data
are open to public scrutiny.

7. CONCLUSIONS

To gain knowledge about a research problem, McGrath (1982) argues that there is no one best
methodological research strategy. Fielding and Fielding (1986: 27) believed that qualitative work
can uphold quantitative work in “providing theoretical framework, validating survey data, and
interpreting statistical relationships” The strengths and weaknesses of the documentary method
available were also revealed. The most common mistake is to think of documentary records “as
ready to use research data whereas they usually require more preparation, care and effort than an
equivalent analysis of a research data set” (Hakim 1993: 1141). Despite these criticisms, this
approach is particularly useful when the researcher is faced with the task of analyzing a variety of
documents which have no common format and which appear to be being developed without
sufficient empirical evidence (Appleton and Cowley 1997). Internal validity, and the limited
application of external validity and reliability, was explored. Documentary evidence can provide the
researcher with a wealth of rich and detailed information which is unbiased by the data collection
process (Appleton and Cowley 1997). This paper has described the processes which the researcher
undertook when developing a method for data analysis of social research. The conclusions that can
be drawn from this discussion of documentary methodology is that, in this instance, the methods
selected and approaches taken are robust, rigorous, appropriate and have produced valid and useful
data, and therefore confirm the value of different research contexts and their implications by doing
any research.

The main purpose of this paper was merely to introduce documentary research method to those who
may not be familiar or just skeptical, and to show that even original research can be done using old
data (Hakim 1982). The intention is not to present documentary method now as the research method
of choice, but to show that like all research methods, documentary research method requires
rigorous adherence to research ethics. It is important to mention that quality control formula of
handling documentary sources do exist and must be adhered to. However, these dangers are no more
pronounced in documentary research method than in other research methods. Every method of
inquiry has its strength and weakness. It applies to documentary research method as any other
research methods. There is no one particular research method and there is no research method that is
superior to others. The choice of a research method should only be on the basis of a method’s
appropriateness. Documentary research method should be utilized by social scientists with full
confidence that it is also a respected scientific method. It can not be overemphasized, however, that
the weaknesses and strengthens of various research methods are subjects of ongoing debates, and no
one can pretend to have risen above the fray of these debates.

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