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Qualitative Studies and Textual Document Research in the United States: Conducting Research in National Archives

Qualitative research typically involves gathering evidence through surveys, interviews, and observations. At some point, qualitative researchers may consider including primary source textual documents in their studies. Depending on the study focus, textual document collection may require a visit to a United States national archive. Although preliminary investigations may provide a sense of what to expect during archival research, there is no resource that details the navigation of the U.S. national archive experience. This article will supply the reader with background knowledge related to decisions in choosing textual documents as study evidence, navigating a national archive, and employing the strategy of document sampling. The resulting description is designed to prepare researchers for a successful archival research experience.