Abstract
This article examines the function of documents as a data source in qualitative research and discusses document analysis procedure in the context of actual research experiences. Targeted to research novices, the article takes a nuts‐and‐bolts approach to document analysis. It describes the nature and forms of documents, outlines the advantages and limitations of document analysis, and offers specific examples of the use of documents in the research process. The application of document analysis to a grounded theory study is illustrated.
Keywords
Function (biology)Grounded theoryContext (archaeology)Qualitative analysisQualitative researchProcess (computing)Content analysisData scienceComputer scienceSociologyManagement scienceEngineering ethicsSocial scienceEngineeringHistory
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Publication Info
- Year
- 2009
- Type
- article
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 27-40
- Citations
- 10145
- Access
- Closed
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Cite This
Glenn A. Bowen
(2009).
Document Analysis as a Qualitative Research Method.
Qualitative Research Journal
, 9
(2)
, 27-40.
https://doi.org/10.3316/qrj0902027
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.3316/qrj0902027