Bowen, G. (2009) Document Analysis as a Qualitative Research Method. Qualitative Research Journal, vol. 9(2), pp.27-40.

Document analysis is a systematic procedure for reviewing or evaluating documents—both printed and electronic (computer-based and Internet-transmitted) material. Like other analytical methods in qualitative research, document analysis requires that data be examined and interpreted in order to elicit meaning, gain understanding, and develop empirical knowledge (Corbin & Strauss, 2008; see also Rapley, 2007). (Bowen, 2009, p.27)

Documents that may be used for systematic evaluation as part of a study take a variety of forms. They include advertisements; agendas, attendance registers, and minutes of meetings; manuals; background papers; books and brochures; diaries and journals; event programs (i.e., printed outlines); letters and memoranda; maps and charts; newspapers (clippings/articles); press releases; program proposals, application forms, and summaries; radio and television program scripts; organisational or institutional reports; survey data; and various public records. Scrapbooks and photo albums can also furnish documentary material for research purposes. These types of documents are found in libraries, newspaper archives, historical society offices, and organisational or institutional files. (Bowen, 2009, pp.27-28)

The analytic procedure entails finding, selecting, appraising (making sense of), and synthesising data contained in documents. Document analysis yields data—excerpts, quotations, or entire passages—that are then organised into major themes, categories, and case examples specifically through content analysis (Labuschagne, 2003). (Bowen, 2009, p.28)

The qualitative researcher is expected to draw upon multiple (at least two) sources of evidence; that is, to seek convergence and corroboration through the use of different data sources and methods. Apart from documents, such sources include interviews, participant or non-participant observation, and physical artifacts (Yin, 1994). (Bowen, 2009, p.28)

By examining information collected through different methods, the researcher can corroborate findings across data sets and thus reduce the impact of potential biases that can exist in a single study. (Bowen, 2009, p.28)

It is important to note here that qualitative research requires robust data collection techniques and the documentation of the research procedure. Detailed information about how the study was designed and conducted should be provided in the research report. (Bowen, 2009, p.29)

documents can provide data on the context within which research participants operate—a case of text providing context, if one might turn a phrase. Bearing witness to past events, documents provide background information as well as historical insight. Such information and insight can help researchers understand the historical roots of specific issues and can indicate the conditions that impinge upon the phenomena currently under investigation. (Bowen, 2009, p.29)

information contained in documents can suggest some questions that need to be asked and situations that need to be observed as part of the research. (Bowen, 2009, p.29)

documents provide supplementary research data. Information and insights derived from documents can be valuable additions to a knowledge base. Researchers should therefore browse library catalogues and archives for documents to be analysed as part of the research process. (Bowen, 2009, p.30)

documents provide a means of tracking change and development. Where various drafts of a particular document are accessible, the researcher can compare them to identify the changes. Even subtle changes in a draft can reflect substantive developments in a project (Bowen, 2009, p.30)

documents can be analysed as a way to verify findings or corroborate evidence from other sources. Sociologists, in particular, typically use document analysis to verify their findings (Angrosino & Mays de Pérez, 2000). If the documentary evidence is contradictory rather than corroboratory, the researcher is expected to investigate further. When there is convergence of information from different sources, readers of the research report usually have greater confidence in the trustworthiness (credibility) of the findings. (Bowen, 2009, p.30)

In sum, documents provide background and context, additional questions to be asked, supplementary data, a means of tracking change and development, and verification of findings from other data sources. Moreover, documents may be the most effective means of gathering data when events can no longer be observed or when informants have forgotten the details. (Bowen, 2009, p.30)

Document analysis involves skimming (superficial examination), reading (thorough examination), and interpretation. (Bowen, 2009, p.31)

Content analysis is the process of organising information into categories related to the central questions of the research. … it entails a first-pass document review, in which meaningful and relevant passages of text or other data are identified. The researcher should demonstrate the capacity to identify pertinent information and to separate it from that which is not pertinent (Corbin & Strauss, 2008; Strauss & Corbin, 1998). (Bowen, 2009, pp.31-32)

Thematic analysis is a form of pattern recognition within the data, with emerging themes becoming the categories for analysis (Fereday & Muir-Cochrane, 2006). The process involves a careful, more focused re-reading and review of the data. The reviewer takes a closer look at the selected data and performs coding and category construction, based on the data’s characteristics, to uncover themes pertinent to a phenomenon. (Bowen, 2009, p.32)

Codes and the themes they generate serve to integrate data gathered by different methods. (Bowen, 2009, p.32)

Documents should not be treated as necessarily precise, accurate, or complete recordings of events that have occurred. Researchers should not simply ‘lift’ words and passages from available documents to be thrown into their research report. Rather, they should establish the meaning of the document and its contribution to the issues being explored. (Bowen, 2009, p.32)

The researcher as analyst should determine the relevance of documents to the research problem and purpose. Also, the researcher should ascertain whether the content of the documents fits the conceptual framework of the study. It is necessary, as well, to determine the authenticity, credibility, accuracy, and representativeness of the selected documents. (Bowen, 2009, p.32)

The researcher should consider the original purpose of the document—the reason it was produced—and the target audience. Information about the author of the document and the original sources of information could also be helpful in the assessment of a document. The researcher should be concerned with whether a document was ‘written as a result of firsthand experience or from secondary sources, whether it was solicited or unsolicited, edited or unedited, anonymous or signed, and so on’ (Webb, Campbell, Schwartz, & Sechrest, 1966, as cited in Hodder, 2000, p. 704). (Bowen, 2009, p.32)

When documents are being used for verification or support, however, even a few can provide an effective means of completing the research. (Bowen, 2009, p.33)

Document analysis, then, is not a matter of lining up a series of excerpts from printed material to convey whatever idea comes to the researcher’s mind. Rather, it is a process of evaluating documents in such a way that empirical knowledge is produced and understanding is developed. In the process, the researcher should strive for objectivity and sensitivity, and maintain balance between both. (Bowen, 2009, p.33)

In grounded theory research, as in other forms of qualitative inquiry, the investigator is the primary instrument of data collection and analysis. As such, the researcher/analyst relies on skills as well as intuition and filters data through an interpretive lens. (Bowen, 2009, p.36)

Document analysis is a low-cost way to obtain empirical data as part of a process that is unobtrusive and nonreactive. Often, documentary evidence is combined with data from interviews and observation to minimise bias and establish credibility. Although the strengths of document analysis are considerable, the researcher should not use it as a stand-in for other kinds of evidence that may be more appropriate to the research problem and the study’s conceptual framework. (Bowen, 2009, p.37)

The researcher/analyst needs to determine not only the existence and accessibility but also the authenticity and usefulness of particular documents, taking into account the original purpose of each document, the context in which it was produced, and the intended audience. As the subjective interpreter of data contained in documents, the researcher should make the process of analysis as rigorous and as transparent as possible. (Bowen, 2009, p.37)