You need to carry it out when you’re completing a bachelor’s or master’s thesis, or when you’re preparing for a PhD. It’s also carried out by researchers who write papers and publish articles in scientific journals or academic works. We’re talking about documentary research. At impresionlibrosonline.com, we explain what documentary research is used for and why it’s so important.
We do this, moreover, because it is something that features in many of the commissions we receive. Documentary research is an essential part of the work of many teachers, students and scientists. Remember, too, that at impresionlibrosonline.com we offer the best guarantees and highly competitive prices, so you can transfer all the work you’ve done over months in digital format onto paper.
What is documentary research?
Documentary research, also known as bibliographic research, is the set of actions involved in gathering data and information in order to define, analyse and explain the subject under study.
It is called a ‘documentary’ because it draws on a wide variety of documentary sources, which we will look at later. When compiling this information, one can make use of documents, books, interviews, magazines, recordings, newspaper articles, bibliographies, and so on.
As a form of analysis, documentary research is quite common in the humanities and social sciences, as well as in psychology. In this respect, it differs in part from experimental research or fieldwork.
Main sources for documentary research
Sources in documentary research are the materials or places of origin from which information is obtained for academic work. It is essential that they are of high quality and validated by reputable bodies that are well-recognised by the scientific or academic community. To gather these sources, one can visit archives, research centres, private collections, libraries, museums, online platforms and many other venues.
Generally speaking, we distinguish between primary and secondary sources, which differ in the way the information is gathered. If it comes from a direct participant in the story or phenomenon in question, it is a primary source; however, if it is derived from reconstructions, reviews or specialist critiques, it is a secondary source.
However, when classifying sources in documentary research, another criterion is more commonly used: their format.
- Bibliographic sources: These include monographs, theses, bibliographies, articles from specialist journals and other printed or digital texts that are not of a journalistic nature.
- Audiovisual sources: Similar to the previous ones, the main difference is that they consist of audio, visual and audiovisual recordings used to explain or elaborate on the phenomenon under study.
- Archival sources: This category includes both bibliographic and audiovisual material, but is referred to as ‘archival’ because it originates from the archives of public or private institutions. This group includes letters, contracts, personal diaries and photographs, amongst other items.
- Periodical sources: These are similar to bibliographic sources, the main difference being that this information has been published in newspapers, magazines, press publications or online portals that appear at regular intervals.
How to carry out documentary research
We already know what this type of work involves and what it’s for, but do you know how to carry out documentary research? It’s actually no easy task, because each project can be approached very differently depending on the subject being studied and the information available. That said, there are certain steps that tend to be common to all such projects.
Compilation of material
This is the first step to take. You need to review all the available information and carefully assess the quality of the sources at the researcher’s disposal. From there, it is a matter of going through that material to identify what will actually be useful for moving forward.
Analysis of the data and interpretation of the subject under study
Having taken the first steps, the next task is to continue selecting sources, but this time in a more thorough manner, analysing the data that supports the hypotheses or interpretations set out in the work. The aim is not to discard anything that does not fit with the initial idea, but rather to verify that the phenomenon under study is real, accurate and can be explained through the research.
Final conclusions
The final stage is to conclude the work with the conclusions. These outline the details covered in the research, with clear examples, and present the most relevant interpretations. Finally, it must be clearly explained whether the research question has been resolved, that is, whether the objective set out in the literature review has been achieved.
If you follow these steps, you’ll be able to carry out a thorough and well-researched literature review. And if you also decide to use impresionlibrosonline.com to have it printed, we’ll be happy to assist you with all our experience and expertise.
