The Documentary Research Method – Using Documentary Sources in Social Research

Sociologists in particular and social scientists in general tend to quickly turn to social surveys to collect data for their research projects. This stems from mainstream social science research tradition that is dominated by positivist and empiricist tradition that emphasizes quantification. There is however another method of data collection, the documentary research method, or the use of documentary sources in social research, that is often overlooked. This paper argues that although the documentary research method is not very popular in social science research, it is nevertheless an acceptable and respectable research method that is also scientific and requires rigorous adherence to research ethics.