Informal and Formal Representation

Question 1

Informal data examples

Answer 1

Film, music, art, blogs

Question 2

Formal data examples

Answer 2

Numerical data, spatial data (e.g. census, governmental surveys), think tank research

Question 3

Does informal or formal representation have a greater media influence?

Answer 3

Informal data has more of a media influence because we are more exposed to this. Furthermore, formal data is shown by the informal agents, so may be biased

Question 4

Limitations of census data

Answer 4

• It’s just a snapshot of that particular time/day etc. - this person could have a child or move soon afterwards
• As years pass, the data becomes more and more out of date
• The boundaries used can change so it becomes more difficult to directly compare areas
• Costly
• Time deficient
• Questions can not be too detailed (due to cost)
• Results can take a while to be processed (as there is a lot of them)

Question 5

Stereotypical rural village characteristics

Answer 5

• Closely knit, supportive community where everyone knows everyone else
• More conservative and traditional in views
• More homogenous ethnically
• Less mobility, both spatially and socially

Question 6

Advantages of census data

Answer 6

• Everyone from the population is included, so the results are reliable
• Data from smaller areas is included and is reliable
• Results are exact so do not have to be averaged or estimated