Documentation in Research Methodology l Documentation in Reports and Research Papers l Importance of Documentation in Research Methodology l Types of Documentation in Research

Documentation Definition:
It is the proof given for information and ideas that have been taken from others that is known as documentation in a report or research paper. This evidence covers both primary and secondary sources.

Documentation Types: 

Documentation styles and formats are many, among them MLA (used in sciences), APA styles (psychology, sociology, education), Chicago styles (histories), and ACS styles (chemistry).

Documentation Uses:

A Document is defined as a written text. Documents may be files, statistical data, official or non-official documents that provide an event narrative, photos, other textual materials which may be accessible in a social, public, or digital environment. For instance, institutional memos and reports, census publications, government declarations and procedures, journals and other textual, visual, and pictorial materials in various formats, etc., are available in social, public, or digital terms either publicly or upon request.

Document research is not an independent technique; it is typically used in combination with other ways of design. Document research is used if the researcher has questions to answer. In an open inquiry, it is not useful to identify trends since the number of papers to be examined may be enormous and transform the researchers' job into a never-ending activity. This research technique is thus frequently only employed as an addition to other research methods.

Document research, along with surveying and ethnography, is one of the three most important kinds of social research and perhaps the most often utilized of the three for studying the requirements, behavior, and expectations of the user groups. The documents analyzed in document research are either quantitative or qualitative (or both). All those who utilize documents in their study should take into account the fundamental problems of documents and our capacity to use them as trustworthy sources of evidence for user groups.

Importance of Documentation:

• When individuals read a finished work, they can identify which ideas are the authors. This is critical for future research and constructive peer criticism in related fields.

• To recognize borrowing or referencing another's work, writers must document it. Academic and scientific fields must accurately recognize intellectual debts. Thus, documentation methods are always specified, regardless of citation format.

• Legally, excellent documentation helps writers avoid plagiarism and piracy. This is partly due to the Internet, where more and more information is made freely available, often without acknowledgment. As a consequence of these challenges, writers must learn to assimilate information, note sources, and express borrowed ideas in their own words, not just quotations.

Advantages of Document Research;

1.Availability

The technique of document research utilizes documents that are publicly accessible or, if private, accessible on request.

2. Effective Time & Cost

Since the phenomena under study is precisely described before the technique is utilized, the investigation is concentrated and closed. This saves the researcher a lot of time and also money, which would have occurred if a study specialist was contacted.

3. Unbiased process of collection

As there are no direct interactions between the researcher and the user groups or authors of the materials, the probability of prejudices remains minimal. Again, if the record type of the document is statistical, the gathered data is based on facts that can be confirmed and checked for mistakes.

4. Presence of the Researcher

At the moment of data collection, the researcher is not needed to be present.

Disadvantages of Document Research

1. Limited by available data

As the data or papers on the event to be investigated are the main resources for the research, the results will be based only on the data on the topic recorded.

2. Written material errors

If mistakes exist in the documents, these faults will also result in erroneous findings.

3. From the background

If the materials examined are out of context, they don't add any meaning to the research or provide meaningful results.

4. Preparation before analysis

Before the document analysis is done, the preparation needed is a job in itself. The aim of this effort is typically to recruit researchers, identify sources, list the material to be investigated and analyzed, etc.

Conclusion: 

Documentation leads to a smoother functioning with full knowledge and know-how to deal with problems appropriately. It Reduces mistakes via appropriate data recording methods and error correction. It also maintains an organization's consistency in how things are documented and recorded.