Secondary Sources

Question 1

What are official statistics?

Answer 1

• Quantitative data, compiled from other research method collected from government bodies such as the census

Question 2

What are advantages of official statistics?

Answer 2

• Easy to access and regularly updated for lots of different topics
• Provide tend overtime and this allows the sociologists to see impact of social changes before and after
• It also looks at gender and ethnicity and allows researchers to spot social inequality
• It is also quick and cheap to access
• Based on large sample sizes so it is highly representative

Question 3

What are the practical issues of official statistics?

Answer 3

• Time consuming, it can take a lot of time to interpret and analyse
• Access some may time to compile and may not be available for certain periods of time, and it is not made for sociological material , so the definitions may differ from what sociologists is looking for
• Operationalising variables, different criteria for different topics

Question 4

What are the ethical issues of official statistics?

Answer 4

• May be manipulated by the government to prove political points, thus some groups may be targeted or neglected for example under reporting of homelessness
• Lack of consent, people have not consented to have their data used in sociological research

Question 5

What are the theoretical disadvantages of official statistics ?

Answer 5

• Lacks depth and meaning, Interpretivists argue that stats are socially constructed and it is up to those in power about what actions and behavior fit definitions thus behavior of different social classes may be viewed more negatively and those of the elite
• Lacks validity, does not always reflect the truth as there may be some actions that are not reported or recorded such as underreporting in crime stats ( Dark figure of crime)

Question 6

What are documents?

Answer 6

• Refers to any written text, such as personal diaries, government reports , newspapers, letters or emails
• There a 3 types of documents, public documents and private documents and Historical
• Public documents are produced by organisations such as government departments or schools and are available for research use
• Private documents are items such as letters and diaries, and these are usually first hand accounts of social events and personal experiences and generally include the writers thoughts and feelings
• Historical documents are those from the past

Question 7

What are advantages of documents ?

Answer 7

• High validity, often give rich and detailed insights into personal meanings, thoughts and emotions. And also help sociologists see the world through the participant
• Usually cheap
• If public, there are no ethical risks
• Using already existing documents helps to avoid disturbing participants especially for sensitive topics such as suicide, where we are able to use suicide notes instead

Question 8

What are the theoretical disadvantages of documents?

Answer 8

• Low reliability, personal documents are unique and subjective to the individual so it is hard to replicate or generalise , for example one students diaries may reflect their own biases and not represent all
• Researcher may misinterpret the meaning or context of a document
• issues with representativeness, only certain types of people write or publish personal documents

Question 9

what are the practical disadvantages of documents?

Answer 9

• Access issues, gaining access to personal documents may be hard or restricted
• Time consuming to analyse

Question 10

What are the ethical disadvantages with documents?

Answer 10

• Consent and Privacy, using private letters or diaries without permission raises serious ethical concerns
• Harm or sensitivity, documents dealing with trauma for example abuse or suicide may distress the researcher