documents Flashcards
documents
secondary data, favoured by interpretivists, which are veered by individuals, groups and organisations. mainly contain qualitative data and expresses beliefs and meanings held by an individual and/or organisation.
personal documents
take the form of diaries, memoirs, autobiographies and letters
personal documents - advantages (4)
valid - written for personal purposes so will have a high degree of validity and provide and in-depth and genuine insight into people’s attitudes
practical - they are cheap and save the researcher’s time
illuminated many areas of social life
can be used to confirm or question other interpretations and accounts
personal documents - disadvantages (2)
some groups are unlikely to produce personal documents such as letters and diaries and so their views aren’t represented while those with time and literacy skills may be over represented
personal documents such as letters are written with an audience in mind and may affect what ie being recorded. personal bias is likely to be present
personal documents - advantages (4)
valid - written for personal purposes so will have a high degree of validity and provide and in-depth and genuine insight into people’s attitudes
practical - they are cheap and safe researcher’s time
illuminated many areas of social life
can be used to confirm or question other interpretations and accounts
historical documents
provide evidence from the past
historical documents - advantages (2)
they allow comparisons over time (for example birth, death and marriage rates)
they are useful when assessing the outcomes of various social policies (e.g: raising the school leaving age)
historical documents - disadvantages (3)
un-representative - some documents may have been lost or destroyed
the validity of the documents are one to question as they may have been written selectively
the authenticity of a document is open to question as it might not have been written by the person it is attributed to, therefore undermining its reliability
