SECONDARY DATA Flashcards
What are official statistics?
The numerical data collected by the government, usually gathered through surveys.
What are unofficial statistics?
Quantitative data that is collected by non-government sources such as employers.
Why might statistics be seen as reliable methods of research?
Easy and cheap to access, positivists view them as ‘hard’ reliable facts and trends over time can be identified.
How are official statistics doubted?
Open to political abuse.
What is content analysis?
A technique used by some sociologists to analyse media reports or products.
How is content analysis seen as a strong method?
Very cheap and comparative analysis is longitudinal.
What are the issues with content analysis?
Very time-consuming method and subjective method.
What are the three types of secondary data?
- Content analysis
- Unofficial statistics
- Official statistics
Why else can statistics generally be considered weak?
Socially constructed, meaning they do not just appear or happen and they tell us very little about the human stories that underpin them.
