HOW TO DO A DESK RESEARCH: 3 STEPS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

How to do a documentary research? Documentary research is a process that involves the execution of a series of steps and procedures. To carry out a desk investigation, a plan must be drawn up.

Documentary research is characterized because in its execution it resorts to different types of documents and from them, it collects, chooses, analyzes and demonstrates consistent results.

Documentary research is an investigative method that is based on the review of various sources of information ranging from videos to texts that address existing topics.

These files can be used to inquire into a new research topic or to address an old topic.

One of the characteristics of documentary research is that it works directly or indirectly on texts or documents, for this reason it tends to be associated with archival or bibliographic research.

In the case of documentary research, "document" has a broader meaning since it includes databases such as plans, tapes, films and files, among others, that provide information.

These documents can be old or current. Any reliable source can be very helpful.

Documentary research involves following certain key steps such as the basic collection of the bibliography that works on the subject in question, reading the source of information, preparing bibliographic and newspaper files to:

• Know the background
• Present outstanding ideas on content sheets
• Prepare an outline for field work.

Steps to do a desk research

Selection of topic or problem

This stage or step is the result of the exploration of the scientific area, the selection of the problem and the archiving of sources, the exploration of the study area, the active reading and the signing.

To select a topic, it is important that it has generic connotations related to the discipline or area of ​​knowledge of which it is recommended to have prior knowledge.

This also depends on personal interests and inclinations, the review of the bibliography, the advice of experts and tutors, the novelty and importance of the topic and the level of the student or researcher.

It is necessary to know what current problems surround the study objective in question. This will allow selecting the relevant and choosing a topic from which required documentary resources can be obtained.

When a topic is chosen, it is delimited, the problem in question is clarified and the aspects considered of it are specified.

For this, the objectives pursued with the investigation and their justification must be included. This step should indicate who will be investigated, the main variables, when the investigation will be done and the place.

There must be a relationship between the topic and the research problem. A field of study is defined on which research may or may not be done. The problem defines what you are trying to study within the area. He proposes questions trying to answer them, pointing out the aspects that merit his investigation.

Delimitation of the problem and statement of hypotheses

This step is the result of the systematization of the information through content analysis that is carried out thanks to simple, analytical and critical summaries.

Problems arise from difficulties resulting from needs that must be solved. Formulating a problem correctly is often even more important than the solution, since a well-defined problem contains the structure of the investigation.

The problem statement seeks to answer: what happened, how, when and where. For this, the subject must be known as well as possible and this is achieved by reviewing theories that explain the phenomenon.

It must be taken into account that in each research source that is reviewed, the author must be recognized. Three types of information are considered:

• Primary, which come directly from research, these are journal articles, papers, theses, monographs or books.
• Secondary, information processed by other people such as manuals, dictionaries or encyclopedias and
• Tertiary, which help to obtain information such as bibliographic information journals (initiatives, analytical and synthetic), databases and the Internet.

With this information, a simple summary, an analytical summary and finally a critical summary are made.

Development of the process (operationalization) and communication of results

This stage is the result of the interpretation and analysis of the information, the first draft, the structuring of the report and finally, the preparation of the monograph.

It is recommended to write a draft in which the final facts and ideas of the work are exposed.

At the end of the draft, the introduction and table of contents are made. The final wording seeks to clarify the results, discoveries, reflections or verifications achieved with the investigative process.

Characteristics of documentary research

Documentary research is characterized because in its execution it resorts to different types of documents and from them, it collects, chooses, analyzes and demonstrates consistent results.

As in all research, it implements logical and mental procedures such as analysis, induction, synthesis and deduction.

This type of research carries out a process of scientific abstraction, generalizing on the basis of what is fundamental.

In addition, it collects data that helps to find facts, focus other sources of investigation and channel the ways in which useful instruments can be developed for the investigation and pointing out of problems to later develop hypotheses.

Documentary research can be considered as an essential, very broad and complete part of the scientific research process, since it is carried out in an orderly manner with specific objectives, as these will be the basis for building new knowledge.

Examples

Examples of documentary investigations include:

A study that seeks to predict the school demand that will occur in any city for the following school year, based on statistical analysis of the demand registered in certain previous years.

A documentary research implies promoting information that allows generating hypotheses to carry out future research or detect knowledge gaps.

Thus we have as examples: documentary research on anatomical and histological descriptions of bones or studies of the prevalence of a disease.

Other examples can be: literary, linguistic, semantic, semiotic or philological analysis of a work, the monitoring of a topic in periodical publications such as an electoral process, activities of a person or the responses of the authorities to a certain case (it can be an event current or old).

A review of the minutes of the board meetings of a company to discover the origin of a change or the review of the minutes of a congress in order to analyze the interventions of a deputy.

The analyzes are recurrent in this type of research: analysis of the foreign policy of a country through the review of newspapers, books and magazines or an analysis of the state of some field of study through articles, books and conference proceedings.

References

1. Sáenz, D. (2013). Academic Research with Support in Information Technologies. Mexico: Digital Editorial of the Tecnológico de Monterrey.
2. Moreno, M. (1987). Introduction to the Methodology of Educational Research. Mexico: Progreso.
3. Hughes, D and Hitchcock, G. (1995). Research and the Teacher: A Qualitative Introduction to School-based Research. USA: Routledge.
4. Scott, J. (2006). Documentary Research. London: Sage Publications.
5. Prior, L. (2003). Using Documents in Social Research ». London: Sage Publications.
6. Wivian, W; Pfaff, N and Bohnsack, R. (2010). Qualitative Analysis and Documentary Method in International Educational Research. Germany: Barbara Budrich Publishers.
7. Hartas, D. (2015). Educational Research and Inquiry: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.