Documentary Research Method: New Dimensions

This paper explores the documentary research method (DSM) in social research and aims to provide a general understanding of the DSM as well as specific tools for its successful implementation. In recent years, although a number of social research scholars discuss the importance of documentary research but this method has had little attention as compared to other methods. The DSM tools can be utilized in all fields where the documentary method is prominent, including business, anthropology, communications, economics, education, medicine, political science, social work, and sociology. In social science research the use of documentary sources is often overlooked. This paper argues that although the documentary research method is not very popular in social science research but it is nevertheless acceptable as a scientific research method. This article reveals assessing the validity of documentary data as well as the value of documentary research.