Documents Flashcards
1
Q
Documents: In a nutshell
A
Documents are secondary data, favoured by interpretivists, which are created by individuals, groups and organisations. They mainly contain qualitative data that expresses beliefs and meanings held by an individual and/or organisation. Different types of documents include personal private documents and historical documents.
2
Q
What are personal documents?
A
Personal documents take the form of diaries, memoirs, autobiographies and letters.
3
Q
Personal documents: Advantages
A
- Valid - Written for personal purposes so will have a high degree of validity and provide an in-depth and genuine insight into people’s attitudes.
- Practical - They are cheap and save researcher’s time.
- Illuminates many areas of social life.
- Can be used to confirm or question other interpretations and accounts.
4
Q
Personal documents: Disadvantages
A
- 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 is being recorded. Personal bias is likely to be present.
5
Q
What are historical documents?
A
Historical documents provide evidence from the past.
6
Q
Historical documents: Advantages
A
- They allow comparisons over time (for example birth, death and marriage rates)
- They are useful when assessing the outcomes of various social policies (Eg. raising the school leaving age)
7
Q
Historical documents: Disadvantages
A
- Un-representative - some documents may have been lost or destroyed
- The validity of the documents are open 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
