Methods (technique) of documents' analysis

From documents to a story: main body of the MA thesis

We have a lots of documents.

How can we analyze them in order to tell our story about the topic?

To make the outline

The modes of the holding and analysis of documents

Terrible questions for each researcher to be resolved on this stage of research are the following:

How can we hold the documents found and how can retrieve and analyze a raw data from documents?

1 Approach: each document is printed and stored in a folder>> a work with a marker>> a transfer of main facts into your text (you are making an analysis while writing a text of your research)

Failure: the analysis is absent, and the text will be rewritten several times to compose facts in more proper manner. The work is descriptive.

Inside folder: how the documents should be arranged?

- according to agencies?

-according to facts?

-according to questions elaborated by a researcher?

-According to chapters of the main body of research (strategies, agencies, activities, results with evaluations)?

It depends on your experience.

to retrieve facts from documents?

2 approach:

First step: every documents is converted into a file with the definite title. Title consists of the indication of the period of time relative to facts mentioned in the document + a fact itself (what's about the document)

Example:

Dates in the titles of files are to know the period of time covered by documents and to arrange them.

2 approach: ps

2 step: we make numerous folders of files (documents) according our own criteria of classification:

-agencies which issued a documents,

-countries

-events

Example:

The main weakness of classification according agencies: problems and countries, and facts as well are beyond the

sight of a researcher.

2 approach: psThird step: We retrieve some facts, main ideas and so

on from the documents into a special table (a separate file) in order to create an outline of our story: every item can be sorted, found, and arranged according to a structure of a text.

The outline (the format will depend of a personality of a researcher)

1) keeps the source (www...) of information and a link to a full text of document in our PC;

2) gives a sketch of a story;

3) arranges data according to elaborated plan of the text, questions raised in documents, and activities discussed there>>

4) the outline is almost a text of our research to be refined, shorted, and re-told by your language and through your concept.

Approching to a main body of a paper is to arrange facts in a table

Introduction

Chapter I or the part of introduction: review of literature and sources applied in the research.

Chapter II

Chapter III } main body of your research

Chapter IV

Conclusion

References

The plan of a paper is ready>> How to prepare the text of the main body?

1) to prepare a rough text filled with facts, events, cases + and to link paragraphs (the first and final sentences of every paragraph)

A paragraph is a piece of your story defined by its logic, completeness, and inherent unity) – one thought, events, etc is one paragraph.

2) to re-read, re-write, and put aside in order to think over a conclusion (further, to make a conceptional frames for your empirical findings, to find your concept)

3) to refine the text is to mix facts (taken from source) with your own discussion.

It is time to write a chapter or a paragraph about sources applied

in the research + to start composing “References”

Introduction

Chapter I or the part of introduction: review of literature and sources applied in the research.

Chapter II

Chapter III } main body of your research

Chapter IV

Conclusion

References

The aim and the content of this chapter

1) the aim is to demonstrate the newness of your research, to give evidence that the conclusions are based on the solid documentary foundation.+ to show some limitations.

2) the content is a description of the types of documents classified by the following approaches:

PRIMARY DOCUMENTS: WHAT SHOULD WE MENTION

1) why did we select these documents?

2) can we rely on them to reconstruct event, make conclusion?

3) what kind of data is inside? >>

- «critical analysis of a document» – an assumption to discuss:

1) Why a document was created? The aim of a document as a text?

2) Who is the author of document?

What should we emphasize wile write a chapter about primary

documents1) a contribution to our research with new data:

What kind of information do they bring for our research?

What does the data matter?

2) a limitation of research:

what kinds of documents are absent?

The classification (assorting) of documents

I) according to “unpublished and published” documents (archival and published) groups >> there are two groups.

according to the deepest historical tradition: documents which have a power of a law and narrative documents

II) according to agencies who issued a documents:

Types of documents in the text

1) documents of international organizations

2) International Acts (agreements)

3) documents of executive branch of power (MFA, government, DoS)

4) documents of legislative branch of power (parliament, congress)

5) documents of non-governmental organizations,

6) memories,

7) statistics

The groups can be shortened in the case of a few documents applied >>

(e.g., I have some documents issued by various governmental agencies of the United States) >>

1) the documents of the NSC

2) the documents of the White House,

3) the documents of the DoS......

Or

1) the documents of Russian governmental bodies...

2) the materials of Turkish TV channels....

Footnotes for paragraph about primary documents

1) If you have a plenty of documents, then «for example» formula works in footnotes:

14. See, for example: NSC paper 23....

2) If you have a few documents, then «a list» formula works in footnotes:

15. NSC Paper 24; NSC Paper 65.....

Footnotes for the rest

1) Literature: articles and books: no strict rules for MA students

Sytnik A. Russian Public Diplomacy // Journal of..., Vol. 1, # 3, 2012. P. 1-16

Torakci A. New Turkish Media Diplomacy. Moscow: MUP, 2012. P. 13

2) Documents:

Title of d. // Title of Web-page <www...> (date of retrieval)

Title of d. // Title of Web-page. URL: www...

References = The list of sources and literature applied in the research

1) the main rule for the Russian Federation:

The list of documents must be separated from the list of books and articles:

References

I. Sources (Documents) can be listed alphabetically or by groups relative to the agencies

1) Documents of the Brazilian MFA

1) America and its partners. NSC paper 109, 1989 …...

2) Documents of Russia Today

23) Youth in Chinese diplomacy....Documentary, October 22, 2012 // RT <www.....>

II. Literature must be divided into two groups:

1) Books

2) Articles

References

III. Newspapers: two variants — by the title of magazine or by title of a paper itself:

New York Times, December 03, 2014

Barak Obama and Vladimir Putin // New York Times, December 03, 2014, p. A.3

Tasks for homework: documents

1) define the agencies involved in «your» public diplomacy

2) retrieve the documents about the strategies, implementations and results

3) compose the outline for the main body ( the table)

4) read, decide over the essence of the chapters, assort the facts according to your chapters

Tasks for homework: a main body of MA

1) compose a rough text filled with empirical facts, events (from a chapter to chapter. Here: from a paragraph to a paragraph)

2) link the paragraphs.

3) send to each other and tell a story (a presentation)

Theoretical frameworks of research

It is not a compulsory work and chapter in MA thesis,

But: we must know how to deal with concepts, theories taken from books and which are suitable for our research;

In order to deal with theories is to do the following:

At home: to finish baby-disseration: a sketch (10 April)

You must write:

1) Inroduction;

2) review of literature and primary documents

3) main body of the text with footnotes

4) Conclusion

5) references

You must disseminate to each other

You must prepare questions and critical remarks to each other

24 of April, 2014

Research Design

Reading, Discussing and applying to your real MA thesis ideas from the following books:

1) Designing Social Inquiry by G. King

2) The Craft of Research by W. Booth

Read: from King, Chapters I and II:

Read: from Booth, Chapters I, II, III, and IV

From our interest to a focused topic (by Booth, p. 41)

How shall we narrow our broad interests?

Reading (colloquium)

Keywords (tags)

A small story in a larger context: make comments for pp. 46-48

My research is a part of what? (a larger story)

My research is valued by what (your stance, ideology)

Planning your project (by Booth, p. 37)

A main criterion for selection of a topic:

Available data (a source of information) that bring evidence (empirical facts)

= to check the topic in both literature and documents

Name your topic, p. 49, 50+54-55

Answer please:

I am trying to learn about __________________,

because I want to find out _________________

Read again pp. 54-55

(FOR TOPICS FOCUSED ON A PARTICULAR FIELD)

From a topic to problem (p.56 and earlier)

I study it in order to understand (resolve) a problem

How do you understand «a research problem»?

A research problem is motivated by incomplete knowledge or misunderstanding (p. 59)

Use example on p. 60 and 62,66 for your own research topic:

P. 66

Topic: I am studying the differences among various nineteenth- century versions of the story of the Alamo

2. Question: because I want to find out how politicians used stories of great events to shape public opinion,

3. Conceptual Significance: in order to help readers under-

stand how politicians use elements of popular culture to ad- vance their political goals,

4. Potential Practical Application: so that readers can better protect themselves from unscrupulous politicians.

King, pp. 4, 6, 7, 10

What is qualitative research?

What is empirical research?

What is inference ?

What is generalization?

Homework,

29 of April instead of 8 of May (15:20), Room?

16 of April instead of 15 of May (15:20), Room140

Or two classes on the 16th of May?

Booth, chapters 5-11 (5-16)

King, chapters 1-2 (1-2)

A final class

2 Parts

1) mini-disseratations

2) a study of

Booth, chapters 5-11 (5-16 )

King, chapters 1-2 (1-2 )

Booth, chapters 5-11 (5-16 )

We move from a topic to problem to research question

Sources (documents and secondary literature), page 75-

1) We flip and skim sources: reasons of doing it.

2) A factor of reliability of sources.

Booth,

Argumentation, p. 113

1) how can we support our claim(s)?

Page: 114- “In a research report, you make a claim, back it with reasons based on evidence, acknowledge and respond” - explain the notions

Booth, chapter 12

Drafting

1) Page 190: 2 approaches to make a text.

2) Page 192: Don’t Structure Your Report Around the Topics of Your Data

Booth, chapter 14

Introductions

Page 224: three elements in Introduction?

King, pp. 4, 6, 7, 10

What is qualitative research?

What is empirical research?

What is inference ?

What is generalization?

Components of Research Design, pp. 15

Research question:

Name the ideal criteria for a research question, p. 15

Theory:

Name the main criteria to deal with theories existed and nonexistent

Data:

What does it mean — to know how data was generated?

A final exam (a combination of RS + AP)

A list of questions to be answered

You will write an answer to a question

Date:

Preliminary

28 of May

11 am

No exam:

29 of June