Information
The main advantage of the biographical method is primarily the fact that it takes into account the subjective dimension of the event or phenomenon being examined. This subjective dimension is presented directly by the subject, thus ensuring that the data is honest. However, many authors believe that an excessive emphasis on the subjective dimension of a phenomenon or event poses a risk to the objectivity and credibility of the obtained research results. This problem of the biographical method is solved by applying the principle of complementarity. The principle implies the use of different data sources which complement each other. In the case of the biographical method, these are institutional data, which are considered the objective data that the personal documents miss.
Another advantage of the biographical method is the temporal dimension that it brings to the research process. The information sources were mostly created immediately after the event being examined took place.
Unlike other methods, the method of biographical documents is the only one directed to the role of an individual in social processes. Furthermore, it explains how events influence the development of the respondent’s personality, and how the respondent reacts both to their own problems and the problems of the social environment (Pečujlić & Milić, 1995, p. 140).
Finally, one of the advantages of this model relates to the very sources of experiential materials, which are much easier to control than other sources, which require the researcher’s presence in the data collection process.
However, the biographical data can be said to have more disadvantages than advantages primarily due to their subjectivity. The first problem or disadvantage is the inaccessibility of data. A small amount of personal documents is easily accessible to researchers, forcing them to announce the calls for submitting biographies, which leads to another problem – the problem of authenticity. The same problem appears with the sources designed for the purpose of the research, i.e. ordered sources, collected orally (narrative biographies). The problem with this type of sources is actually the degree in which the researcher influenced the development of the source. The solution to such a problem can be found in as precise a definition of the topic and research objectives as possible, and then in defining the broadest possible experiential framework of the research itself. The process of creating documents is very slow and long-lasting, and in addition to time, requires huge financial resources (Pečujlić & Milić, 1995, p. 140). Another problem that might be encountered when using the personal documents method is the selection of participants/respondents. Finally, there is the problem of the representativeness of the results, which can be encountered when using the personal documents method, and it relates both to sampling, and the analysis and presentation of the research results.
