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Artifact Analysis

Artifacts become data through the questions posed about them and the meanings assigned to them by the researcher. There is no one right way to analyze artifacts. A wide range of disciplines informs the analysis of artifacts, including anthropology, archaeology, art history, history, human geography, ethnography, and sociology. In the process of analysis, we are asking the data to tell us something. An artifact has a story to tell about the person who made it, how it was used, who used it, and the beliefs and values associated with it. For example, a quilt made around the time of the U.S. Civil War may have been used to communicate ideas about abolition, to smuggle messages through enemy lines, to raise funds, or to bury a soldier killed while fighting the war. The materials used can provide a glimpse into what resources were available to the quilt maker. Another example of artifacts that have a story to tell would be archival records such as birth, marriage, and death certificates. These records can be examined for their genealogical value and to understand the patterns of life in a culture or society.

Several kinds of analysis are related to artifact analysis. All are described in more detail in separate entries throughout the encyclopedia. Thus, just a brief overview follows here.

Methods of Analysis

Although there is no one correct way to analyze artifacts, several approaches to analysis may be employed depending on the type of artifact being examined. These include content, discourse, document, historical, and narrative analyses as well as semiotics.

Content analysis is a systematic examination of forms of communication used to objectively document patterns. In general, text is broken down into categories and the presence of these categories is often quantified. Discourse analysis also uses written, spoken, or signed language as its object but is concerned with larger units of analysis such as conversations and the interrelationships between language and society. Document analysis is the study of the written text and takes into account the document's physical condition, the handwriting or printing used, and its idiosyncrasies. Historical analysis concerns itself with understanding the state of the times in which an event occurred or a person lived. Narrative analysis examines the internal coherence of a text and investigates the story being told. Semiotics is the systematic study of symbols or signs and includes the study of how meaning is constructed and understood.

Depending on the specific artifact being analyzed, any one of these or a combination of approaches may be useful. This reflects the wide range of disciplines that can be used to inform the analysis of artifacts.

The Analytic Process

The analytic process is iterative in nature. It involves inferring meaning and making judgments on the part of the researcher. Often the researcher works between the past and the present or between different examples of artifacts looking for relationships. Themes, patterns, and refrains are sought.

It is important to remember that it is common for this type of data to be mute in the sense that member checks often cannot be conducted to verify the interpretation. Thus, the researcher must consider several factors. Questions about the nature of the artifact must be asked. Such questions include the following: Who made it? What materials were used in constructing it? What was the occasion? What was the purpose of the artifact? How public is it? How structured is it? Who was the intended user (an individual or a group)? Who cannot or did not use it? Did different people use it in different ways? What is shown through the artifact? What is absent? Why was it recorded or saved? Considering the artifact's historical context is critical: What was happening in society or in history at the time the artifact was made? What meaning did the artifact have for the users? Has its meaning or use changed over time? Does the meaning differ for different users? If it was created elsewhere, how did this person or group of people acquire it?

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