Mighty Digests # 18: PRIOR, Doing things with documents

Article: Prior, L. (2008). Doing things with documents. In D. Silverman Qualitative Research: Theory Method and Practice (pp. 76-94). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

I like the definition of “text in a network of action”. (p. 76)

In my opinion, it is an important reflection on the “dual” nature of text-in-action and inter-text-action. Every and each document does not exist in a vacuum, but is related to other documents, in a historical and geographic perspective. Studying what these networks of texts do through words is a complex and fascinating adventure. This means to go beyond the idea of “documents as containers of content”.

When I was reading about the encyclopedic categorizations, the Darwinian metaphor of the tree for the evolution of the species, and the taxonomies used in science and human studies, I started thinking about the inherent dangers of such “cataloguing” efforts. If we say that “X” belongs to one category, we are implying that he/she/it doesn’t belong to the other. We are creating distinctions. By race, color, or creed. Income, nationality, or education. These categorizations may help us to better understand (and handle) the complexity of the world, but the danger, the “monster” side of it, resides in how we are using and interpreting these “portable cages”.

I think that categorization is an answer to a question open to manipulation. That is, a category can be used as an answer to an ill-posed question.

The same word can have different meanings in the same community in different times, depending on its function in the ongoing discourse (for example, the use of the word “depression”, cited in the article).

The author states:

“It is always beneficial to ask how documents are produced.” (p. 84).

I think that this task is getting more and more difficult in the “digital age”, in which documents can be manipulated, transformed, and shared in a number of ways.

Another important point presented by the author is that readers are structured by texts.

“Text and documentation are not only produced, but also, in turn, are productive.” (p. 84)

“Latour (1987) has used the term “action-at-a-distance” to indicate how decisions written down in one context and setting can carry implications for action in future settings.” (p. 88)

“Treat the document as topic rather than as source.” (p. 91)

“Documents are not just manufactured, they are consumed. […] They also function in different ways. […] So a further route of analysis for the researcher is to ask questions about how documents function in specific circumstances.” (p. 91)