MA in Educational Leadership (Teach First)

1. MA in Educational Leadership (Teach First) Research Methods Training: June Qualitative Methods Documentary evidence/diaries

2. Documentary Research Documentary AnalysisDocumentary Evidence A research method which involves analysing the content of documents

3. May be national, local or school-based • Policy documents indicate intentions • Documents may record actions or decisions • Documents need to be identified, located, classified, coded, collated, and stored • Coding might relate to research questions • Text may be coded using highlighting • Analysis may precede interviews or observation

4. Documentary Evidence - Issues Context-bound, not just representations of reality • Authenticity and credibility – when was this written? For what purpose? • Representativeness – how typical of the sources we are investigating is this one item? • Is the author biased? Do we trust what we read? • How close is the author to the events described? How accurate is the description?

5. Documents might include: • Minutes of meetings • letters, memoranda • diaries • speeches • written curricula • course documents • timetables • notices • inspection reports • student work Any others?

6. Types of documentary data • Primary sources • Original • Lack interpretation • Direct connection to what is reported • Secondary sources • Includes interpretation • Are not first-hand (or may not be) • Lack direct connection to the original data

7. One source may be both primary and secondary For example, an Ofsted report: • Primary in terms of reporting on evaluation of teaching • Secondary in terms of the teaching itself, or the demographic data included in the report

8. Documentary evidence • Published • Books, articles, reports, blogs, online fora... • Unpublished • Letters, discussions (personal communications), email...

9. Student work and artefacts

10. Strengths of documentary analysis: • It is an unobtrusive method • Data can be collected without the researcher being observed • Data is permanent and can be subject to re-analysis • It can be inexpensive • It allows access to past events (where there may not be available witnesses) • Useful in triangulating other evidence

11. Weaknesses of documentary analysis: • Documents may be limited or partial • Documents have been written for a purpose unconnected with the research • Documents may be biased (because the authors were biased) • Documents may not be credible or representative

12. In summary: • Documentary Analysis is particularly appropriate where overt investigation may be difficult but where the researcher has access to documentation. • Documentary Analysis is more often used as a means of triangulating evidence from other, more overt, sources.

13. Commissioned diaries Diaries kept by others give access to their perceptions and to events in their professional lives (classrooms, meetings, etc.) to which a researcher may have limited access or no access at all. The diarists must be clear what they are being asked to do, and why. If not fully in sympathy with the task, they will not complete it properly.

14. Diaries kept by others Advantages • An extra pair of hands • Investigator is invisible • Wealth of description • Extends the scope of the research Disadvantages • Too much to analyze • Diarists may be atypical or have their own agenda • Variation in depth and detail • Language is not standardised

15. Analysis of qualitative data This has three stages: • Coding: organisation of data into patterns and categories • Interpretation: looking for relationships and linkages • Focus: relate it back to the original purpose of the study All three stages may draw on literature cited previously.