Historical Documents

• Historical documents include government

reports and White Papers, historical
treatises, diaries , church records, early
censuses, life documents and even novels
from a particular period that may add
qualitative insight into the evolution of
social phenomena and problems.
 Historical Documents
• They are not produced for specific research
purposes.
• Can be both qualitative and quantitative.
• Can be used to study social change which
takes place over an extended period of time.
• Can inform about past events that may be
important in understanding how
contemporary patterns of social life came
about.
Several Uses of Historical Documents
1. Peter Laslett used parish records when studying
structures of family in pre-industrial England.
2. Max Weber studied influence of religion on the
development of capitalism using historical
documents.
3. The novels of Dickens may give us insight into
poverty in the 19thcent. whilst those of Jane Austen
may help us understand gender relations in the early
19thcent.
4. Police documents from the 1930s and 1940s may
give us invaluable insight into modern policing
methods.
 Historical Documents (Disadv)
• It may be dangerous to accept generalizations based
upon such findings.
• May relate only to particular societies or areas
• Records may be incomplete or damaged
• Not representative
• Qualitative secondary sources are especially open to
many interpretations
• Interpretations of such documents can differ
according to the researcher’s views, background etc
• Highly subjective
• Likely to reflect the ideologies of those who produced
them
 Life/ Personal Documents
• Created by individuals and record details of
that person’s experiences and social actions.
• Mostly qualitative
• Offer insights into ppl. Subjective states.
• Can be historical or contemporary
• Include: diaries, letters, photos, memos,
biographies, memoirs, record of personal
dreams etc.
 Drawbacks of Life documents
• Difficult to obtain
• Cover an unrepresentative sample
• Open to different interpretations
• May tell more about the subjective states of
individuals than the events they describe. E.g.
the husband and wife may not record same
events in the same way
• May be created with an audience in mind, hence
may miss out on essential details
• Hence, low in validity and reliability
 Life Documents (Adv)
– Ken Plummer suggests that personal documents can
be useful if they were not intended for public
consumption.
– E.g. Anne Frank’s Diary helped in giving a description
of what the persecuted Jews may have felt during
Nazi rule in Holland.
– Symbolic Interactionists believe that when
participant observation is not possible, life
documents are the best alternative, that provide
insights into meanings behind ppl’s actions in
everyday lives.
 Life Documents
• Some sociologists may ask people taking part
in their research to keep a diary documenting
their activities and feelings.
• For example, Ann Oakley asked women in
her study of housework to report activities
occupying each hour of the day. This is
known as time-budgeting.
• This type of method is regarded as very
comprehensive because it focuses on aspects
of behaviour which are very difficult to
anticipate in questionnaires and interviews.
Content Analysis
Mass Media and Content Analysis
• Content analysis is the study of the content of
mass media.
• Include analyses of all types of media (TV,
newspapers)
• Can examine how a particular group such as
women or ethnic minorities are represented. E,g,
in a TV play
• Can investigate specific themes, such as strike or
war, looking to see what messages are encoded
within these representations.
• May study the language used in mass media
 Types of Content Analysis
• Ray Pawson :4 types of content analysis:
1.Formal Content Analysis
2.Thematic analysis
3.Textual Analysis
4.Audience Analysis
 1. Formal Content Analysis
Used to identify different features of a text.
• e.g. how many female roles are displayed in
a child’s book, or what types of toys a child
has in a book.
• These features are simply counted and
interpreted
 2. Thematic Analysis
• This looks for motives behind the document
• Does a news report/ article favour particular
powerful groups in society?
• The Glasgow University Media Group looked
at the reporting of strikes in the 1970-80’s
 3. Textual Analysis (Semiology)
• The text and choice of words is closely
examined to see if it gives a particular
impression
• E.g. “Gay footballer hands in transfer request’
• – what does this say?
• It often involves the use of semiology- ‘the
analysis of the meanings of signs with
reference to the cultural codes within which
they are embedded’.
 4. Audience Analysis
• Analysis of the audience and how they
interact with the media and what they use it
for!
• Does the audience believe in everything
shown or written in mass media?
• Sometimes audience reject the messages
apparently being advanced by the media.
 Conclusion
Greg Philo and David Miller of Glasgow Media
Group illustrate how combining formal, thematic
and textual analysis along with carrying audience
analysis may improve the validity, objectivity and
reliability of content analysis.

• In a study of the Palestinian conflict, they used

thematic and textual analysis of the content of
TV coverage as well as interviews and focus
groups to study audience understanding of, and
reaction to, the broadcast messages.
Assessing Secondary Sources
Official Stat
Historical documents
Life documents
Mass Media content
Internet
 Assessing Secondary Sources-
Historical Documents
• John Scott 1990
Gives 4 quality controls for assessing the usefulness of
historical documents

1. Authenticity

• Is it genuine?
 Soundness: Complete & reliable copy
 Authorship: many documents are not actually
produced by those to whom they are attributed
• E.g.The Hitler diaries in the 1980’s were found to
be forgeries – but fooled top historians at first.
 Assessing Historical Documents
2. Credibility

 Is the author sincere? Or does he/she distort

things
• In a sincere document the author genuinely
believes what they write
• Politicians may distort accounts of their actions
or motives in their memoirs
• Also faulty memory may reduce accuracy of
reporting past events
• Check against other material from the same era
 Assessing Historical Documents
3. Representativeness

• Is it typical?
 Does it fit in with other accounts from the
same time?
• This can be difficult to assess if few
documents from the same era have survived
• Many documents do not survive because
they are not stored, others deteriorate with
age and become unusable. Others may be
deliberately withheld from the public gaze
 Assessing Historical Documents
4. Meaning

 Concerns the ability of the researcher to

understand the document
 Literal meaning of the text – problems with
language (if foreign, old-fashioned handwriting,
archaic vocab)
 But also concerns the meanings and significance
• Understanding of what the document actually
signifies.
• Often such meanings can never be settled and
we rely on assumptions
 Internet as a secondary source
• Stuart Stein believes internet sources must be
used with caution. Suggests the following criteria
when using internet sources:
1. Authorship: who is author?
2. Authority of author: how credible or qualified?
3. Authority of material: is it published?
4. Authority of site/organization: reputable or not
5. Current or not?
6. Pressure groups/ objectivity: interests of those
who produced the web material?