Defining ‘proper research’: privileged access, local authority archives and the academic researcher

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article sets out a case study of proposed access to approved school records, undertaken as part of doctoral research at the University of Essex, and outlines issues encountered in the process of negotiating privileged access to closed material. It will demonstrate the approaches taken by local authority archive services in dealing with such access requests and make proposals to standardize this route of access for record professionals in the field, and academic researchers. Approved schools operated in England and Wales between 1933 and 1973, with responsibility for around half a million children during this period. Single-sex institutions, the children committed to these schools comprised nine boys to every one girl. Operating outside of the welfare and education systems, and approved by the Home Office, these schools present a complicated institution to define in terms of the management of their surviving records. No two archive services operate like-for-like schemes for privileged access to closed material, and the variety of processes in place across the sector is considerable. This article considers existing requirements, based on experiences during this research, and proposes possible standardization, aspiring to a more consistent approach in terms of required documentation, facilitating further understanding between archivists and academic researchers.