Documents as Data - Online
Date:
09/03/2027 - 10/03/2027
Organised by:
NCRM, University of Southampton
Presenter(s):
Dr Helen Kara FAcSS has been an independent researcher since 1999 and an independent scholar since 2011. She specialises in creative research methods, radical research ethics, and creative academic writing, and teaches doctoral students and staff at higher education institutions worldwide. Her books include Creative Research Methods: A Practical Guide (3rd edition forthcoming in Sept 2027) and Research Ethics in the Real World: Euro-Western and Indigenous Perspectives (2nd edition forthcoming in Dec 2026) for Policy Press, and Qualitative Research for Quantitative Researchers for SAGE. Helen has founded the International Creative Research Methods Conference, the Journal of Creative Research Methods, and the Independent Research Ethics Committee.
Level:
Intermediate (some prior knowledge)
Contact:
Jacqui Thorp
Training and Capacity Building Coordinator, National Centre for Research Methods
Email: jmh6@soton.ac.uk
Venue: Online
This course will explain when and why to use documents as data for research, show you how to gather documentary data, and consider some ways to analyse that data. It will also cover some of the associated ethical issues and include case studies of documents as data in practice.
The course covers:
When and why to use documents as data
How to find personal and official documents, historical documents, mainstream print media documents, virtual documents, and self-published documents
How to assess the quality and usefulness of documents for research purposes
Some methods of analysing documentary data
An introduction to the ethical issues of using documents as data
By the end of the course participants will:
- Know how to find the documents they need for their research
- Know how to assess the quality and usefulness of documents
- Understand how to approach the analysis of documentary data
- Have an action plan for using documents in their own research
This is an intermediate level course assuming a good basic knowledge of research methods. It would suit postgraduate students, early career researchers in academia, practice-based and independent researchers.
Preparatory Reading
Desirable:
Grant, A. (2022) Doing Your Research Project With Documents: A Step-By-Step Guide to Take You from Start to Finish. Bristol: Policy Press.
Grant, A. and Kara, H. (eds) (2026) Using Documents in Research: When, Where, Why and How. Bristol: Policy Press.
Please note the course will run from 09:30 - 12:30 on the 9th and 10th March and equates to one full teaching day for payment purposes.
Cost:
The fee per teaching day is:
• £60 for registered students at any University (PhD, Masters or Undergraduate levels).
• £150 for staff at academic institutions, Research Councils researchers, public sector staff, staff at registered charity organisations and recognised research institutions.
• £350 for all other participants.
In the event of cancellation by the delegate a full refund of the course fee is available up to two weeks prior to the course. No refunds are available after this date.
If it is no longer possible to run a course due to circumstances beyond its control, NCRM reserves the right to cancel the course at its sole discretion at any time prior to the event. In this event every effort will be made to reschedule the course. If this is not possible or the new date is inconvenient a full refund of the course fee will be given. NCRM shall not be liable for any costs, losses or expenses that may be incurred as a result of the cancellation of a course.
The University of Southampton’s Online Store T&Cs also continue to apply.
Website and registration:
Region:
South East
Keywords:
Data Collection, Online Data Collection , Documents, Data, Research methods, Data analysis, Data quality, Documentary research
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