✍ Scribed by Aimee Grant
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
Students and researchers have an abundance of materials and sources available to them via the internet for use in their projects. However, there is little practical guidance available on the fundamentals of performing qualitative research with documents. This valuable book enables readers to undertake high-quality, robust research using documents as data. Encouraging critical consideration of research design, the book guides readers step-by-step through the process of planning and undertaking a research project based on documentary analysis. It covers selecting a research topic and sample through to analysing and writing up the data. The book includes: • a wealth of case studies demonstrating how lessons can be applied in practice; • summary boxes and suggestions for further reading in each chapter to guide learning; • helpful online resources to facilitate designing your own research. Accessible and comprehensive, this book will be invaluable for both students and researchers alike who are new to documentary analysis. All the resources included in this book are available to download on the book’s webpage at https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/doing-your-research-project-with-documents/online-resources. Look for the Online Resources logo throughout the book.
Front Cover
Doing Your Research Project with Documents: A Step- By- Step Guide to Take You from Start to Finish
Copyright information
Table of contents
Detailed contents
List of figures
List of tables
List of boxes
List of sketch notes
List of resources
List of abbreviations
About the author
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Overview
1 Introduction
Is this book for me?
Structure of the book
What is a document?
How can documents help us understand society?
Advantages to using documents as data
When is it appropriate to use documents in research?
Conclusion: Why I wrote this book and what I hope it will do
Further reading: General sources for documentary analysis
Documentary analysis textbooks
Collections of documentary analysis case studies
‘How to do a research project’ books
Part I Getting going
2 Working within a research paradigm and choosing a topic
Introduction: A load of ‘ologies’ you really need to consider (a little bit)
Which research paradigms are used in qualitative research?
What approaches are used in research using documents?
How do I identify my own research paradigm?
What is the difference between research paradigm and theory?
Why should I use theory in my research?
How do I choose a research topic?
Conclusion
Further reading
3 Working productively
Introduction: Back it up!
How can I focus on my dissertation?
What information should I consult and follow?
Where am I in the research process? What are the next steps?
The order of the dissertation process and write-up
Help! I made a really big mistake
How can I make a plan to complete my dissertation in the time available?
An important note about learning and working styles
What does success look like for you?
Ways of drawing up plans
Gantt charts
To-do lists
What if I feel that my project isn’t going well?
The myth of easy order in research
How to change your plan
Help! I feel overwhelmed
Conclusion
Further reading
4 Working with your supervisor
Introduction: Sometimes supervisory relationships really suck
What is my supervisor’s role?
Performing supervision, usually through meetings
Advice and guidance
Skill development
Feedback on your progress
Why are supervisor/supervisee relationships challenging?
Overcoming known challenges in supervisory relationships
How should I communicate with my supervisor?
How can I lead the way in the supervisory relationship?
Don’t lose information
Feeding back after meetings
Deadlines
What if I can’t make my supervisory relationship work?
Conclusion
Further reading
5 Working ethically
Introduction: The blurred line between real life and documentary lives
What ethical principles do I need to consider?
Your own feelings about appropriateness
University codes of ethical conduct
Staying within the law
Professional bodies’ ethical codes
‘The Daily Mail Test’
Inclusive citation, ethics and design
Conclusion
Further reading
6 Working reflexively and safely
Introduction: Why you really shouldn’t skip this chapter
What are reflexivity and positionality?
How can I be reflexive?
Asking yourself questions at the outset
Research diaries
What should I do if I have an emotional response to the data?
How can I take care of my mental health while doing a dissertation?
Feel the emotion
Reflect as you analyse
Peer support
If none of that helps, please seek support from your university
Conclusion
Further reading
Part II Making decisions
7 Reviewing literature and writing your literature review
Introduction: Literature reviewing can be anxiety-inducing
How should I reference in my dissertation to avoid plagiarism?
Referencing
Should I use referencing software?
Where should I search for literature?
How do I search for literature on my topic?
Search terms are very important
Boolean operators
How do I know if the literature I’ve found is relevant?
When should I stop searching for more literature?
How do I critically examine the literature in my literature review?
How should I structure my literature review?
Conclusion
Further reading
8 Finding sources
Introduction: Documents come from EVERYWHERE!
When should I start searching for documents?
What sort of sources will answer my research question?
Where to search for documents
Archives
Finding sources on the internet
Finding hard copies of data
How to search for sources in archives
Narrowing your period of interest
Developing search terms
Identifying the type of sources of interest
Conclusion
Further reading
9 Choosing an analysis approach
Introduction: The importance of choosing an analysis approach before your data
How can I fit my analysis strategy within my research paradigm?
What is content analysis and how do I decide which things to count?
What is thematic analysis and how do I develop themes?
What is discourse analysis and how do I consider meaning in words and images?
How can I use theory to consider the role of documents in shaping behaviour?
What if I want to use a type of analysis that isn’t covered here?
How do I decide if I need to use theory?
Why would I want to triangulate my analysis?
Why doesn’t software ‘do’ my analysis for me?
Conclusion
Further reading
10 Writing research questions and your methods chapter
Introduction: Why your research question is the most important sentence in your dissertation
What is the scope of a dissertation project?
What is a ‘research gap’?
Traditional ‘literature gaps’
New ways of analysing old topics or documents
Changes in society
New perspectives
How do I write a research question?
Example 1: Racism in the media; initial thoughts on a research question
Example 2: Planning applications for student housing; unpicking the research question
What should I include in my methods chapter?
Conclusion
Further reading
Part III Getting it done!
11 Collecting and analysing data and writing your results chapter
Introduction: The horror of losing data or text!
How can I keep on track?
What information should I be recording when collecting data?
Decisions around including or excluding documents
The need for a ‘clean’ set of data
Naming conventions for your data
Describing your sample
Archival catalogues provide important information
What is the difference between coding and analysis?
How do I get started with my analysis?
Preparing hard copy data
Using your planned analysis strategy
Coding your data: a step within your analysis strategy
What should I include in my results chapter?
Reporting results vs discussion
Introductory paragraph
Description of data
The main reporting of your findings
Summing up: the concluding paragraph
Conclusion
Further reading
12 Assessing data quality and writing your discussion chapter
Introduction: The importance of getting analytical
What does ‘quality’ and ‘bias’ mean in relation to documents?
The presence or absence of legibility and clarity of meaning
Who wrote the document; why, when and where?
Who is the intended audience?
How does it compare to similar documents?
How do I assess my data for quality and bias?
What should I include in my discussion chapter?
Overview of results
Comparing your results to existing literature
Understanding the limitations of your research
Implications for future research, policy and practice
Concluding sections
Conclusion
Further reading
13 Creating the final dissertation
Introduction: How can I get words on the page quickly?
How do I incorporate my supervisor’s feedback?
Help! I can’t understand what they mean
The comments are all negative; I’m really demoralised
There are so many comments, I don’t have time to address them!
How do I create a full draft dissertation?
Step 1: Gather all of your work
Step 2: Examine each individual chapter for completeness
Step 3: Ensure you are ethical in your dissertation
Step 4: Creating the actual dissertation
Step 5: Writing your abstract
Step 6: Include ‘front matter’ and appendices
The final bit: editing and proofreading
Editing
Proofreading
Reviewing your references
Conclusion
Further reading
14 Concluding remarks
Glossary
Notes
References
Index
Back Cover
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