SECONDARY Research Methods

Question 1

What are official statistics

Favoured by POSITIVISTS

Answer 1

Quantitative data gathered by the government. Secondary because the data already exists.
2 ways of collecting official statistics
*registration - e.g., law requires parents to register births.
*official surveys - e.g., census

Question 2

Official statistics: ADAVANTAGES

Answer 2

Practical advantages - free source of data, save money and time, statistics allow comparatives between groups.

Representativeness - sociologists able to access a larger sample size, able to make generalisations.

Reliability - trained to follow a procedure, standardised and controlled, generate reliable data of the professional knows what they are doing.

Question 3

Official statistics: DISADVANTAGES

Answer 3

Practical - researcher didn’t collect the statistics, may be none available for the topic being researched.
Definitions used by state may be different to definitions used by sociologist.

Reliability - may not be wholly reliable, e.g., census could have errors in coding.

Representativeness - some based on smaller sample e.g., bristly crime survey rely on crime to be reported = small sample size.

Validity - not true or accurate measurement of an issue within society.
INTERPRETIVISTS - numerical data cannot offer experience, attitude or feeling.

Question 4

How positivism see statistics

Answer 4

Valuable resource for sociologists as they are wide scale meaning they are high in representativeness.
Social facts and an objective measure of issues.
Reliable as they are standardised and controlled.

Question 5

How interpretivism see statistics

Answer 5

Reject officials statistics as they are low in validity.
Do nit represent the real world, claim that they are socially constructed and represent the labels that are given to different behaviours.

Question 6

How Marxists see statistics

Answer 6

Servethe interests of capitalism. E.g, unemployment statistics do not give an accurate picture of unemployment.
Disguises the true effects unemployment has on the working class.

Question 7

What are Documents?

Answer 7

Any written text, there are 3 different types:

1. public - ANDERSON: parliamentary reports on child labour and statistics from 1851 census.
2. personal - THOMAS AND ZNACKI: 764 letters, experience of migration.
3. historical - ARIES: used medieval paintings and child rearing manuals to study how childhoods have changed over time.

Question 8

Documents: ADVANTAGES

Answer 8

(PERSONAL) produce quantitative data enable researcher to get closer to individuals reality.

(HISTORICAL) only source of data for studying the past, no other survivors.

(PUBLIC) double check results obtained by primary research.

Cheap source of data as someone else has already gathered the information.

Question 9

Documents: DISADVANTAGES

Answer 9

Aunthenticity - document may not be genuine, could be errors or missing pages.

Credibility - may not be believable or true, STEIN - documents on the internet may not be accurate.

Meanings - researcher may need specialist training to understand or interpret data.
Sociologists nay interpret document differently.

Representativeness - may not be able to generalise, not all documents may be available. Certain groups may be unrepresented