Doing Excellent Social Research With Documents

In today’s society we increasingly create and consume written content and images. This includes a range of sources, from social media posts to records held within organisations, and everything in between, including news articles, blogs, shopping lists and official government documents. Critically reading these ‘documents’ can help us to understand a huge amount about society. Doing Excellent Social Research with Documents includes guidance on how to ‘read between the lines’, and provides an overview of six research projects which use documents as data. The substantive chapters are organised in two sections, with each chapter focused on a specific type of data. Section one focuses on documents that are found in isolation from their authors, including official and historical documents, traditional media, diaries and online content. Section two focuses on using documents in addition to existing data from primary research, including the role of documents in ethnography and visual research methods. In each chapter, you will be guided through the process of: Developing research questions, and how this impacts on which documents are selected; Considering aspects of bias and quality within the documentary sources; Undertaking analysis using six different strategies including thematic analysis, framework analysis, content analysis, discourse analysis and narrative analysis. Drawing on research projects which reflect real world situations, you will be methodically guided through the research process in detail, enabling you to examine and understand the practices and value of a range of documentary analysis approaches. Doing Excellent Social Research with Documents is a practical how-to guide for students (final year undergraduates onwards) and researchers using documents as data.

A comprehensive, yet concise, introduction to the use of documents as tools within social science research.

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.

Using Documents in Social Research offers a comprehensive, yet concise, introduction to the use of documents as tools within social science research. The books argues that documents stand in a dual-relation to human activity, and therefore by transmitting ideas and influencing the course and nature of human activity they are integral to the research process. Key features of the book include: · Alerts students to the diversity of social scientific research documents. · Outlines the various strategies and debates that need to be considered in order to integrate the study of documents into a research project. · Offers a number of examples where documents have been used within a variety of research contexts. The book is written in an easy and engaging style which makes it accessible to undergraduates and postgraduate students. It will be essential reading for students and researchers across a range of social science disciplines.

Grounded in real examples, this book gives you the skills and confidence to conduct rich, systematic analysis of print and digital documents.

The Good Research Guide provides practical and straightforward guidance for those who need to conduct small-scale research projects as part of their undergraduate, postgraduate or professional studies. The 7th edition covers topics in a clear, user-friendly style outlining the key points and explaining why they are important. The new edition has been updated throughout and has additional material on topics such as social media research, online surveys, image-based research and participatory action research. It also features new chapters on how to prepare for a research project, with specific guidance on: · how to undertake a literature review · how to write a research proposal · how to ensure the research is ethical · how to locate the project within a research paradigm Full of practical advice and valuable examples, this is the go-to book for students looking to improve their research skills. “Having this book at your side is like having your hand held from start to finish and every decision in between... I very much welcome a new edition for my students” Melanie Nind, Professor of Education, University of Southampton and Co-director, National Centre for Research Methods, UK "Comprehensively updated, this book remains the indispensable student guide to the research process… It's not just good, it's great!" Dr Tom Clark, Lecturer in Research Methods, The University of Sheffield, UK “The text is informative, concise, and attractive. Each chapter presents sections in an easy-to-read format with further reading ideas and link ups to the numerous topics covered throughout the book.” Dr Alaster Scott Douglas, Reader in the School of Education, University of Roehampton, UK Martyn Denscombe is Emeritus Professor at De Montfort University. He has a research background in the fields of sociology, education and business studies and has published widely on research methods in the social sciences.

Uniting methods from disciplines across the social sciences and humanities, this hands-on guide develops a novel approach to doing document analysis. The authors present a framework for studying documents that enables you to conduct a rich and systematic analysis of documents in all their diversity. Focussing on document analysis both in practice and as practice, the book provides you with an innovative and versatile toolkit for analysing print and digital documents. It also: Highlights the impacts of digitalisation on documents themselves and the methods used to study them Has a strong focus on research ethics and critical engagement with digital sources Offers practical guidance on preparing and doing a document analysis research project. The book offers insightful perspectives both on the indispensable role of documents in our society and practical advice on how you can best analyse documents and their significance.

From diaries and letters to surveys and interview transcripts, documents are a cornerstone of social science research. This book guides you through the documentary research process, from choosing the best research design, through data collection and analysis, to publishing and sharing research findings. Using extensive case studies and examples, it situates documentary research within a current context and empowers you to use this method to meet new challenges like digital research and big data head on. In a jargon-free style perfect for beginner researchers, this book helps you to: · Interrogate documentary material in meaningful ways · Choose the best research design for your project, from literature reviews to policy research · Understand a range of approaches, including quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods. Accessible, clear and focused, this book gives you the tools to conduct your own documentary research and celebrates the importance of documentary analysis across the social sciences.