official statistics

Question 1

what type of data is this

Answer 1

secondary

Question 2

what is the example study for official stats

Answer 2

madood - ethnicity, class and attainment
-examined data on pupils achieving 5 or more grades A*- C in diff ethnic groups
-examined data on pupils who were eligible for FSM with data of those who weren’t ellegible
-found in all ethnic groups pupils eligible for FSM did less well than those who weren’t

Question 3

strengths of official statistics

Answer 3

+practical, gov collects stats from over 30k skls - saves researcher time and money - also representitive, v.large sample
+representative, the gov system allows comparison between skl
+skls may be able to provide additional statistics the gov doesn’t have access too like exclusion and bullying rates
+valid, type of hard stats and is a requirement for skls to update their data for the gov ie. attendance, skls fined if not provided
+few ethical concerns bc available on public web meaning no deception or harm for researcher and info is already gathered confidentially
+ can use to test hypothesis

Question 4

limitations of official stats

Answer 4

• interpretivists challenge validity levels, would argue results are socially constructed and no verstehen
  -validity issue, skls may manipulate their statistics to obtain league table positions
  -lack depthand validity, cant gain verstehen on causes of truancy bc no option for kids to elaborate
  -validity issue, may be recorded wrong ie. child recorded as unauthorised absence may be a mistake
  -soft statistics ie. truancy figures, are open to manipulation, or some skls may refuse to enter students to exams bc know will fail ad damage rep