Archival and recordkeeping research

Research Methods: Information, Systems and Contexts
102
Method/Technique Definition Potential applications and examples
Functional analysis Methods and techniques for recordkeeping
functional , business analysis and work
process analysis.
Initially these techniques were developed
for use in recordkeeping and archival
practice, e.g., in system specification,
appraisal and disposal, the development of
business and archival classification schemes,
the development of access policy.
Literary warrant
analysis 10
The literary warrant for professional practice
is made up of authoritative sources, which
are recognised and valued by experts. Such
authoritative sources may be found in the
law, codes of ethics, standards, the
professional and scholarly literature, oral and
literary texts, and in domain experts.
Analysis of the literary warrant for
professional practice establishes the
“mandates” for best practice, and identifies
its conceptual and theoretical frames of
reference (Duff, 1998).
Developing innovative policy and strategies, new standards and
procedures.
Identifying how records are created and used within recordkeeping
systems.
Understanding the societal and organisational mandates that govern
recordkeeping.
Examples include:
research and development projects on functional appraisal and
macro-appraisal (Cook 2001a & 2004).
Also used extensively in projects using systems analysis & design and
metadata modelling methods (see examples in relevant sections of
table).
Identification of social mandates for personal recordkeeping through
analysis of sociology texts, and creative and reflective writings.
Analysis of literary warrant to establish recordkeeping requirements.
Analysis of standards, statements of best practice, and research reports
to identify recordkeeping metadata requirements.
Examples include:
functional requirements for recordkeeping (Duff, 1998)
evidence and law in recordkeeping (Iacovino, 2004)
recordkeeping warrant for metadata schemas (Cumming, 2005;
Evans et al., 2005)
development of InterPARES 2 Literary Warrant Database (Gilliland
et al., 2005)
evidence of me (McKemmish, 2011).
10 The term "literary warrant" was first used in 1911 in an article by Wyndham Hulme (Hulme, 1911). Hulme used the term specifically to refer to the fact that the vocabulary of the Library
of Congress Classification was empirically based on the warrant supplied by the Library’s collection rather than on the warrant supplied by other means such as classification theory and
attempts to classify the whole body of knowledge, or by readers' requests.