Recording &DocumentationUnit-IV

Subject:-Community Organization-IFY.BSW

Presented by:Prof. Rahul Mahida

Records:• A Record is a Document or other auditory or visual product,

intended to be used primarily as a working tool by an organization or individual, and which performs following functions;-

A. It gives an account of something which has taken place,B. It defines some person, group or thing;C. It contains factual descriptions, analysis, instruction, directions,

opinion, suggestions or recommendations.D. It sets forth plans for future.

Continue..

• A record may be not only a textual document, but it may be a

chart,graph,map,blueprint,photograph,micro-film,micro-

card,film,slide,recording or other product intended to be heard at some

time in future.

• It is generally unpublished and for use of primarily within the

organization or some other group, rather than for use of general public.

Functions:-

• To give account of something that has happened. It is a substitute for

an extension of memory.

• For Identification.

• To set forth factual descriptions, analyses, instructions, directions,

opinions, suggestion and recommendations.

• To set forth plan for future.

Why Records/Objectives• Records are used in every of organized human relationship-Govt. ,

Business, Religion, Education, Social Welfare.• CO records are to be distinguished from administrative records ( such

as minute, mailing lists, financial statements).• CO records are specialized records relating to the practice of CO. As

the projects are different.• Hence there are different types of the records as the community

differs.

These are some of their answers:-• Because we have to;

To Enable us to keep records

To tell about failure and successes

For ourselves to keep on knowing what we are doing

For communicate to donors and funders(how the project progresses)

So the donor could be encouraged knowing what happened with their

donations.

Conti..• to let other people know about the developments of a project so

other people can be encouraged to do their own projects, so

community members would be encouraged and informed.

• To help researchers to do their work;

• To use for evaluation

• For the Govt.

Purpose• To facilitate and improve the service of the agency.• To facilitate and increase the effectiveness of executive control and

supervision.• To provide the material for interpreting activities, problems, and

accomplishments.• To provide an adequate historical records of the agency, Its program,

its services and accomplishments.• To provide more adequate teaching material for use in training

students workers in training and the new and junior worker.

Types• ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS:

Include office manuals or organization handbooks, scrap books of

newspaper clippings, subject files, containing material on agencies ,

geographical entities, problems, filed and types of service, resource file

or indexes, organization charts ,Job descriptions and specifications,

personnel records mailing lists. statistical data, correspondence and

office memoranda, subject memoranda, notice of meetings, agendas,

minutes.

• OPERATING AND TEACHING RECORDS:The function of operating Record is to facilitate the service & Operation

of the agency. The function of teaching records serves as teaching material in course in

community organization or elsewhere. These are also called C.O. case records.

Process recording in C.O. is a type of recording which may be applied to any diary or case history type of record. The usual diary or case history records is narrative record and the major emphasis is on what happened.

The process records attempts to incorporate the C.O. process into the record ; that is it not only tells what happened , but it lays emphasis on how and why various things happened, and how the worker made use of the C.O. process

Advantages & Disadvantages• Advantages:• The process records is more complete than the ordinary

narrative record & it therefore gives the reader better understanding of what happened & why & how It happened.

• It lays special emphasis upon the social-psychological aspects of CO & Upon individual, Group & Inter group relationship.

• The process records reveals much more• Adequately than the narrative record the role of professional

worker as CO practitioner-what problems he encountered, what relationships were involved, why & how he did, what he did & with what results.

Disadvantages• Process records are extremely long , its time consuming & Expensive.• The selection of material for process recording seems to be highly

subjective.• Process recording sometimes contain large amount of Irrelevant

material , including guesses, surmises, hunches & sometimes psychologically half baked interpretations of actions, motivation and attitudes.

• Habitual process recording may tend to make the worker introspective and too much absorbed in his role and the details of relationships & practices.