Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Sometimes it can be fairly difficult for outsiders to gain access to the military field. However, there is a rich source on the military that is readily available for every researcher: military memoirs. This source does provide some methodological challenges, nevertheless. One might wonder about the reliability (‘truth’) of these autobiographies and whether their content is affected by the fact that these books are prone to official censorship by the military in order to preserve operational security. This study shows that truth and (self) censorship are not only a concern for researchers, but also for military writers themselves and it …

How to apply quantitative and qualitative methodoly to research egodocuments. This presentation was part of the Public Opinion 1500- present course given at the Erasmus University Rotterdam for Master Students History.