official statistics (secondary) Flashcards
what are official statistics
quantitative data collected by government bodies, which come from either day-to-day activities of government departments or surveys like the Census
what are the two types of statistics
hard statistics
soft statistics
what are hard statistics
simple counts that register events such as births and deaths. these are not easily manipulated
what are soft statistics
data that is more easily manipulated e.g. crime statistics
why do positivists prefer official statistics
they assume there is a measurable objective social reality, so look for standardised research methods to obtain quantitative data which allows them to make generalisations.
OS deliver large-scale, representative, quantitative data, collected by reliable methods e.g. questionnaires.
why do interpretivists reject official statistics
they see them as socially constructed, and lacking validity
example of sociologists using official statistics
Townsend and Davidson’s Inequalities in Health study used stats from the Office of Population and Census Surveys, which included all households in the UK. Allowed them to derive information on factors e.g. occupation and ethnic origin, linked to ill health and causes of death to build a generalised picture of health chances for different social groups.
why are hard statistics preferred by positivists
they are more objective, and cannot be manipulated, meaning they are higher in reliability and easier to operationalise
why are soft statistics not preferred by positivists
they are less reliable and objective, and are often manipulated to not show the ‘dark figure’ e.g. crime stats are not truly valid as definitions of crimes are socially constructed and vary (homosexuality). also, many crimes are not reported or recorded
practical strengths of OS
- availability: they are already in existence, so are cheap and readily available. data is already categorised and in usable form. some stats are published monthly, most annually, so can be analysed for trends, and compared against different groups and times
- lots of these OS are nationwide surveys, so representative on a larger scale than sociologists themselves could carry out
- sometimes there are fines for not completing, e.g. for Census, there is £1000 fine
- not dependent on researcher characteristics
- reliable, as the same categories and mode of collection are used each time
ethical strengths of OS
- no deception involved
- no protection from harm needed as there are no real participants
- don’t always require informed consent, as no real participants
- most information is already anonymised, and therefore confidential
- no issues with covert research or vulnerable groups
theoretical strengths of OS
- representative e.g. birth/ death rate have to be recorded, and hard stats are higher in validity due to accuracy in recording. therefore, generalisations can be made to the whole population based on correlations shown in the study
- can observe cause-and-effect relationships
- positivists say these statistics are social facts
- data is reliable, as it is standardised
practical disadvantages of OS
-can be time-consuming to analyse
- may need expensive software to help with analysis
- personal skills are needed e.g. numerical skills
- data systems might not have the specific statistics you are interested in
ethical disadvantages of OS
- consent may need to be given for protected information
- stats on sensitive issues e.g. domestic violence may need to be carefully considered
example of handing ethical disadvantages
Durkheim’s study of suicide. he considered the sensitive topic, so kept the research based on science
theoretical disadvantages of OS
- meanings of different stats e.g. crime can change
- lacks verstehen/ depth/ insight/ meaning/ validity (interpretivists)
- some are less representative when based on a sample e.g. British Crime Survey
- positivists agree soft stats are lower in validity, as there is room for error
- interpretivists day OS are not social facts, and only represent the labels people give to others in society, making these stats socially constructed e.g. the ‘dark figure’ of crime
why do Marxists claim OS are biased
they claim OS are politically biased, by reflecting working-class interests and ideology. they claim the definitions used, areas of social life covered, and how statistics are presented are all political decisions. e.g. definition of unemployed being altered over 30 times in the 1980s to present the government in a more positive light
why do feminists claim OS are biased
they claim OS are biased against women e.g. definitions of ‘work’ used in the Census exclude unpaid housework, so women are more likely to be ‘counted out’ in unemployment figures
