Secondary Research Methods Flashcards
Official statistics
Numerical data that is produced by government of government agencies
Unofficial statistics
Numerical data that is collected by charities and other organisations
Personal documents
Documents such as personal diaries letters and other personal correspondence
Public documents
Government documents that have been released such as OFSTED reports
Historical documents
Original documents that contain historical information about a person place or event
Prior research
Research that has been c`rried out in the same area or on the topic
Content analysis
Formal content analysis is a Quantitive approach to analysing mass media content and involves developing a system of classification to analyse the key features of media sources
Practical factors of statistics
+cheap
+easily accessible
-may not ask the questions specific to the research
Practical factors of personal documents
+cheap
-can be hard to access
Practical factors of public documents
+some can be easy to access
+cheap
-can take time to gain access under FOI act
Practical factors of historical documents
+cheap
+time
+can be easy to access
-may not be specific to the research being conducted
Practical factors of prior research
+cheap
+easy to access
+time
-may not be exactly the same in terms of research aims
Practical factors of content analysis
+cheap
+easy to access
-time consuming
Ethical factors of statistics
No ethical considerations in using official statistics
Ethical factors of personal documents
- invasion of privacy
- informed consent
- confidentiality
Ethical factors of Public documents
No ethical considerations
Ethical factors of historical documents
- confidentiality
- invasion of privacy
Ethical factors of prior research
No ethical considerations
Ethical factors of content analysis
No ethical considerations
Theoretical factors of statistics
+large sample
+valid
+reliable
-could be biased to the view of the organisation
Theoretical factors of personal documents
+in depth and detailed
- open to interpretation
- personal view
- unreliable
Theoretical factors of Public documents
+In depth data
- unreliable
- open to interpretation
- biased
Theoretical factors of Historical documents
+in depth data
- open to interpretation
- unreliable
- personal view
Theoretical factors of Prior research
No theoretical factors
Theoretical factors of content analysis
+reliable
-open to interpretation
