Archival research in the digital era

Adam Nix, Stephanie Decker, David A. Kirsch and Santhilata Kuppili Venkata

Chapter 11 in Handbook of Historical Methods for Management, 2023, pp 156-172 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Historical research relies on archival sources, which are increasingly kept in digital formats. This chapter discusses the digital sources available to management researchers and where to find them. A key difference when working with digital sources is whether they were originally created digitally. Digitized sources are generally images of physical documents with basic text recognition. Born-digital sources have always existed digitally and often need to be searched computationally. We highlight the need for critical source analysis in the digital era, meaning that researchers should question why some sources are available digitally. Second, the nature of digital sources means that they can be analysed differently and that the degree of technology involved in interpreting them may vary significantly. Ultimately, while new collections and tools make digital collections more accessible, historical research approaches can build on a strong methodological tradition of identifying bias and silences through critical source analysis.

Keywords: Business and Management; Economics and Finance; Research Methods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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