RESEARCH METHODS- TYPES OF DATA Flashcards
What does the term “data” mean in sociology?
Data simply means information.
What are the types of data in sociology?
Primary, secondary, quantitative, and qualitative data.
What is primary data?
Original information collected by researchers for their own purposes.
How can primary data be gathered?
Through interviews, questionnaires, observations, and experiments.
What is a strength of primary data?
Researchers can gather precisely the information they want.
What is another strength of primary data?
It is up-to-date as it is recently collected.
What are the weaknesses of primary data?
It is time-consuming, costly, can have flaws undermining validity and reliability, and may have ethical limitations.
Secondary Data
What is secondary data?
Information that already exists and was created by someone else, such as the government, other researchers, or the public.
Where can secondary data be sourced from?
Official statistics, letters, personal diaries, photos, newspapers, etc.
What is a strength of secondary data?
It is quick and cheap to obtain as it already exists.
What are the weaknesses of secondary data?
It may contain bias introduced by the original researcher and might not have the specific information needed by the current researcher.
What is quantitative data?
Information in numerical form, often expressed through graphs, pie charts, and tables.
How is quantitative data usually collected?
Through questionnaires, structured interviews, and experiments.
What are the strengths of quantitative data?
It is easy to analyze, present in charts/graphs, reliable, and allows comparisons.
What are the weaknesses of quantitative data?
It lacks depth, does not explain reasons behind behavior, and lacks validity by showing ‘how much,’ not ‘why.’
