Documents and
Secondary Data
Dr. Kennedy Mkutu Agade
Introduction
Documents can be treated as source of
data in their own right
An alternative to
Questionnaire
Interviews
Observation
Document data
May be in the form of
Library based research
Desk research
Archive research
Pictures, artefacts
Music
Books and Journals
From academic perspective these should
be the first call
Contain the accumulated wisdom on which
the research project should build
Latest cutting edge ideas
Need to be accepted based on quality of
the ideas and information contained
Books and Journals
Evaluate the various sources
Discriminate between them in terms of
credibility that is afforded to them in the
reliance that is place upon them
Academic journals are peer reviewed
before the work is published, so researcher
has some assurance about the quality of
the ideas he or she reads.
A referred and reputable publisher
Has existed for some time
A national title
BMJ
America Journal of Sociology
Published by, or on behalf of , a
professional association or some authority
Contains a list of its editorial board and
editorial advisers with people are of high
“reputation”
A referred and reputable publisher
Have you heard of the publisher before? If
so, this might be reassuring
Is there a clear statement that articles are
referred?
Have you heard of the publisher? If so, this
might be reassuring?
Is it a library book, how frequently has it
been out on loan recently?
Web site pages and internet
Authorship
Credibility
Authenticity of internet documents is
relatively difficult to establish.
Special care must be taken when using
such documents for social science
research.
Newspapers and magazines
The “press” can provide up-to date information
Value of magazines stem from a combination of:
The expertise of the journalists
The specialism of the publication
The insider information which the correspondence can
cover.
Example: Economist or the Financial Times (UK)
Letters and memos
Private correspondences between people can be
used for research purposes.
Diaries
A retrospect account of things that have happened.
They provide
Factual data- a log of things that have happened
Significant incidents
Personal interpretations
Government publications and
official statistics
May provide information that is:
Authoritative - since data produced by state
which has access to resources and professionals
Objective - since data produced by officials, they
might be regarded as impartial
Factual – amenable to statistical analysis, with
no ambiguity
In western governments official information
has become important in providing key
information.
Government publications and
official statistics
However, some official statistics may not be
factual, authoritative and objective
Misleading, or creatively interpreted!
Vested interests in the statistics
Trade figures, unemployment figures, crime figures
Statistics may be the outcome of people’s own
judgements and discretion
Police discretion on how to classify and record crimes
Access to documentary sources
Most attractive factor about using documentary source is the
their accessibility
Library/ internet
Low cost
No prior appointment needed
No ethical problems ?
However not all documents are in the public domain
Medical files, police files
You may need to convince the holders of the value of your
work and your ethics
Evaluating documentary sources
Authenticity
Credibility – is it free from bias or errors
What purpose was it written for
Who produced the document? The status, the
views of the author
First hand? How long after the event?
When was it produced? Social context?
Evaluating documentary sources
Representativeness
Is the document typical of it’s type?
Is it complete or edited?
Is the extract treated in context?
Meaning
Clear and unambiguous wording?
Hidden meanings?
Summary: Advantages of
documentary research
Access data easy
Cost effective
Permanence of data- provides information
that is permanent.
Summary: Disadvantages of
documentary research
Credibility of the source- researchers need
to evaluate the authority of the source and
the procedures used to produce
Secondary data- relying on something
produced for a different purpose.
Social constructions
