Documentary sources have become increasingly neglected in education and the social sciences. This book seeks to emphasise their potential value and importance for an understanding of modern societies, while also recognising their limitations, and explores their relationship with other research strategies. This up-to-date examination of how to research and use documents analyzes texts from the past and present, considering sources ranging from personal archives to online documents and including books, reports, official documents, works of fiction and printed media. This comprehensive analysis of the use of documents in research includes sections covering: * analysing documents * legal frameworks and ethical issues * records and archives * printed media and literature * diaries, letters and autobiographies.

Gary McCulloch is Brian Simon Professor of History of Education at the Institute of Education, University of London.

1. Introduction: Reading Between the Lines 2. Paper Tigers: Social Research and Documentary Studies 3. The Joy of Life: Doing Documentary Research 4. Behind the Scenes: Records and Archives 5. On the Record: Printed Media and Literature 6. Life and Times: Diaries, Letters and Autobiographies 7. A New Leaf: Connections and Conclusions