RESEARCH PAPER/THESIS/DISSERTATION APPROVAL TITLE (in all caps) By (Author) A Thesis/Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of (Degree) in the field of (Major) Approved by: (Name of thesis/dissertation chair), Chair (Name of committee member 1) (Name of committee member 2) (Name of committee member 3)File Size: KB You May Print It: You may print a Gartner Research document for your personal use in your job role, but not for sharing with any third-party either inside or outside the organization, provided that such printing is: (i) for your personal use, (ii) within your job, and (iii) within the scope of your Service; and meets the CONDITIONS set forth below Like other analytical methods in qualitative research, document analysis requires that data be examined and interpreted in order to elicit meaning, gain understanding, and develop empirical knowledge (Corbin & Strauss, ; see also Rapley, ). Documents contain text (words) and images that have been recorded without a researcher's intervention
An Introduction to Document Analysis – Research Methodology in Education
To browse Academia. edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to upgrade your browser. Skip to main content. edu no longer supports Internet Explorer, research document. Log In 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. READ PAPER. Document Analysis as a Qualitative Research Method.
Organisational and institutional documents have been a staple in qualitative research for many years. Research document recent research document, 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 article is to increase knowledge and understanding of document analysis as a qualitative research method with a view to promoting its effective use.
DEFINING DOCUMENT ANALYSISDocument analysis is a systematic procedure for reviewing or evaluating documents-both printed and electronic computer-based and Internet-transmitted material. Documents contain text words and images that have been recorded without a researcher's intervention. For the purposes of this discussion, other mute or trace evidence, research document, such as cultural artifacts, is not included. Atkinson and Coffey refer to documents as 'social facts', which are produced, research document, shared, and used in socially organised ways p.
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 research document for research purposes.
These types of documents are found in libraries, newspaper archives, historical society offices, and organisational or institutional files.
Researchers typically review prior literature research document part of their research document and incorporate that information in their reports. However, where a list of analysed documents is provided, research document, it often does research document include previous studies.
Surely, previous studies are a source of data, research document, requiring that the researcher rely on the description and interpretation of data rather than having the raw data as a basis for analysis, research document. The analytic procedure entails finding, selecting, appraising making sense ofand synthesising data contained in documents.
Document analysis yields data-excerpts, research document, quotations, or entire passages-that are then organised into major themes, categories, and case examples specifically through content analysis Labuschagne, RATIONALE Research document DOCUMENT ANALYSISDocument analysis is often used in combination with other qualitative research methods as a means of triangulation-'the combination of methodologies in the study of the same phenomenon' Denzin, research document,p, research document.
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, research document. Apart from documents, such sources include interviews, participant or non-participant observation, and physical research document Yin, By triangulating data, the researcher attempts to provide 'a confluence of evidence that breeds credibility' Eisner,p.
By examining information collected through different methods, the researcher can corroborate findings across data sets and thus reduce the impact of potential biases that can exist in a single study. According to Pattontriangulation helps the researcher guard against the accusation that a study's findings are simply an artifact of a single method, a single source, or a single investigator's bias, research document. Mixed-methods studies which combine quantitative and qualitative research techniques sometimes include document analysis.
Here is an example: In their large-scale, research document, three-year evaluation of regional educational service agencies RESAsRossman 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 qualitative data.
The document reviews were designed to identify the agencies that played a role in supporting school research document programs. The authors examined mainly the missions of the agencies as described in documents and reported that 'some RESAs promoted the image of general assistance agencies, research document, providing help in many areas, whereas others focused their assistance more specifically on the provision of knowledge through training and technical assistance' p.
Also, Sogunro used questionnaires combined with interviews, document analyses, and direct observations to examine the impact of training on leadership development, research document.
Offering exemplary clarity concerning the use of documents, Sogunro reported that a review of a year-old leadership training program's records provided information on the history, goals, objectives, enrolments, and substantive content. Specific leadership competencies research document skills were identified also through a review of program documents.
As a research method, research document, document analysis is particularly applicable to qualitative case studies-intensive studies producing rich descriptions of a single phenomenon, event, research document, organisation, or program Stake, ;Yin, research document, Furthermore, as Merriam pointed out, 'Documents of all types can help the researcher uncover meaning, develop understanding, and discover insights relevant to the research problem' p.
Angers and Machtmes reported that they analysed documents as part of their ethnographic case study, research document, which explored the beliefs, context factors, and practices of middleschool 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 documents-and the analytical procedure employed, research document. They stated only that 'documents were collected from the school system website' p. 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 research report. Whereas document analysis has served mostly as a complement to other research methods, research document, it has also been used as a stand-alone method. Indeed, research document are some specialised forms of qualitative research that rely solely on the analysis of documents.
They used the data to generate new 'document use' scenarios and a 'proof of concept' test of a related software system. 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, following a process known as hermeneutic inquiry. He investigated the works of over authors and institutions from across 12 different fields or disciplines and also used a technique known as 'phenomenological reflection' to elicit essential and incidental themes.
The rationale for document analysis lies in its role in methodological and data triangulation, the immense value of documents in case study research, and its usefulness as a standalone 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 crosscultural research. In other types of research, the investigator should guard against over-reliance on documents. Let us consider five specific functions of documentary material. First, research document, as indicated above, documents can provide data on the context research document which research document participants operate-a case of text providing context, if one might turn a phrase.
Bearing witness to past events, documents provide background information as well as historical insight. Such information and insight can help researchers understand the historical roots of specific issues and can indicate the conditions that impinge upon the phenomena currently under investigation. The researcher can use data drawn from documents, for example, to contextualise data collected during interviews, research document.
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 help generate new interview questions research document they conducted a longitudinal ethnographic study of service use among families living in poor urban 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 research document 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, research document, Similarly, Hansen analysed journal entries and memos written by participants, as a supplement to interview data, in his study of technology teachers in training.
For their part, Connell, Lynch and Waring separately employed document analysis in their investigations of the social milieu within organisations, research document. They used document 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 research document of tracking change and development. Where various drafts of a particular document are accessible, the researcher can compare them to identify the changes. Even subtle changes in a draft research document reflect substantive developments in a project, for example Yin, The researcher may also examine periodic and research document reports where available to get research document clear picture of how research document organisation or a program fared over time.
Fifth, research document, documents can be analysed as a way to verify findings or corroborate evidence research document 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 research document findings.
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, research document. We cannot, for instance, learn through records alone how an organization actually operates day-by-day. Equally, we cannot treat records-however 'official'-as firm evidence of what they report. On the contrary, our recognition of their existence as social facts alerts us to the necessity research document treat them very seriously indeed, research document.
We have to approach them for what they are and what they are used to accomplish. Moreover, research document may be the most effective means of gathering data when events can no longer be observed or when informants have forgotten the details, research document. 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. As Merriam argued, locating public records is limited only by one's imagination and industriousness. 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.
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You May Print It: You may print a Gartner Research document for your personal use in your job role, but not for sharing with any third-party either inside or outside the organization, provided that such printing is: (i) for your personal use, (ii) within your job, and (iii) within the scope of your Service; and meets the CONDITIONS set forth below What is most impressive is having an idea that is worthy of academic research whilst remaining comprehensible. PandaTip: While this document has the form of a sample, the main body of an academic proposal needs to be based on your research idea: all the rest of the content needs to flow from that if it is to be academically credible A research paper is a piece of academic writing that provides analysis, interpretation, and argument based on in-depth independent research. Research papers are similar to academic essays, but they are usually longer and more detailed assignments, designed to assess not only your writing skills but also your skills in scholarly research. Writing a research paper requires you to demonstrate a strong
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