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Historical documents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Practical factors of historical documents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
