Methods: Secondary Sources

Question 1

Explain the difference between registration and official surveys as ways of collecting official statistics.

Answer 1

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Question 2

State three practical advantages of official statistics.

Answer 2

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Question 3

State three practical disadvantages of official statistics.

Answer 3

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Question 4

State one reason why official statistics are often highly representative.

Answer 4

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Question 5

Why are official statistics likely to be reliable?

Answer 5

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Question 6

Give four reasons why positivists might favour using official statistics in their research.

Answer 6

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Question 7

Define hard statistics.

Answer 7

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Question 8

Define soft statistics.

Answer 8

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Question 9

Give a brief outline and an example of public documents.

Answer 9

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Question 10

Give a brief outline and an example of personal documents.

Answer 10

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Question 11

Give a brief outline and an example of historical documents.

Answer 11

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Question 12

What are Scott’s four criteria for assessing documents?

Answer 12

• Authenticity
• Credibility
• Representativeness
• Meaning

Question 13

Summarise Scott’s four criteria for assessing documents.

Answer 13

• Authenticity
• Credibility
• Representativeness
• Meaning

Question 14

Identify four advantages of using documents in sociological research.

Answer 14

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