Chapter 21: Documents as Data and Secondary Data Analysis

Prior, L. (2008). Repositioning documents in social research.

This article discusses the practical aspects of the use of documents in qualitative research in greater detail. The focus is less on their content than their functions in social contexts and what they reveal about these contexts.

Prior, L. (2008). Repositioning documents in social research. Sociology, 42(5), 821–836.

Price, H., Domoney, J., Ariss, S., Hughes, E., & Trevillion, K. (2021). Documentary analysis within a realist evaluation: Recommendations from a study of sexual assault referral centres.

The authors of this article used documentary analysis also for informing other methods’ use in the project – Such as interview guides and their development. More broadly, the authors integrated document analysis in a mixed methods design.

Price, H., Domoney, J., Ariss, S., Hughes, E., & Trevillion, K. (2021). Documentary analysis within a realist evaluation: Recommendations from a study of sexual assault referral centres. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069211047818

Irwin, S., Bornat, J., & Winterton, M. (2012). Timescapes secondary analysis: Comparison, context and working across data sets.

The article describes the secondary analysis of a number of diverse qualitative data sets, which were produced over time in a longer project. It not only discusses the use of secondary data but also illustrates the analysis of diverse qualitative data. It also describes experiences resulting bringing together the primary researchers who collected and analyzed the data first hand. It takes a focus on comparing and linking a diversity of data coming from several methodological approaches.

Irwin, S., Bornat, J., & Winterton, M. (2012). Timescapes secondary analysis: Comparison, context and working across data sets. Qualitative Research, 12(1), 66–80. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794111426234