Documents

Documents

1. Practical

   • Study the past
     • Robb: WCC in 19th century England
   • Low cost
   • Data already complied: Time saver
     • WCC: big complex paper trail talks long to dicipher
   • Varied access
   • Created for a purpose independent of the sociologist's
   • Not always comprehensive
     • WCC
   • Opportunity
     • Venkatesh
       • "T-bone": bookkeeper
       • Friendship
       • Access to accounts

2. Theoretical

   • Validity
     • Thomas & Znaniecki: Meaning to Polish immigration experience
     • No imposition problem
     • Honest data
       • Sharpe: reflects fear of crime
       • May be too emotive/nostalgic (Criminal diaries)
     • Scott: Not always valid
       • Forgery
       • Credibility
         • Written for publish
         • Memory
       • Sociologist interpretation
     • Official documents
       • Bias towards law enforcement
       • Braithwaite: Correct with triangulation
     • Media sources: Distorted/bias
   • Representativeness
     • Not all groups represented
       • Illiterate
     • Some documents are destroyed
     • 30 year rule
     • Without access to all documents we cannot know if it is typical
       • Wirtten evidence not likely as incriminating
   • Reliability
     • Not standardised
       • Suicide notes
       • Official documents
     • Unique

3. Ethical

   • "Leaked": no informed consent
   • Vulnerable groups
     • Personal/private
     • Suicide note
   • 'Situational Ethics' (Humphries) could be utilised
   • Anonymity
     • Sensitive nature of crime
   • Dispute over who document belongs to
     • Criminal records
     • Consent