Document analysis in health policy research: the READ approach

TLDR

Document analysis is a widely used method in health policy research, yet existing qualitative manuals provide little specific guidance for its application in this field. The authors introduce the READ approach—a systematic method for conducting document analysis in health policy research. READ comprises four steps—ready materials, extract data, analyse data, distil findings—along with practical guidance that addresses epistemological issues such as the socially constructed nature of documents and their role in modern bureaucracies. Illustrated through case studies in Pakistan and Niger, the READ approach shows how rigorous document analysis can uncover critical policy insights, enrich theoretical understanding, and complement other qualitative methods, with coding tools provided as supplementary resources.

Abstract

Document analysis is one of the most commonly used and powerful methods in health policy research. While existing qualitative research manuals offer direction for conducting document analysis, there has been little specific discussion about how to use this method to understand and analyse health policy. Drawing on guidance from other disciplines and our own research experience, we present a systematic approach for document analysis in health policy research called the READ approach: (1) ready your materials, (2) extract data, (3) analyse data and (4) distil your findings. We provide practical advice on each step, with consideration of epistemological and theoretical issues such as the socially constructed nature of documents and their role in modern bureaucracies. We provide examples of document analysis from two case studies from our work in Pakistan and Niger in which documents provided critical insight and advanced empirical and theoretical understanding of a health policy issue. Coding tools for each case study are included as Supplementary Files to inspire and guide future research. These case studies illustrate the value of rigorous document analysis to understand policy content and processes and discourse around policy, in ways that are either not possible using other methods, or greatly enrich other methods such as in-depth interviews and observation. Given the central nature of documents to health policy research and importance of reading them critically, the READ approach provides practical guidance on gaining the most out of documents and ensuring rigour in document analysis.