secondary research methods Flashcards
documents
secondary data created by individuals, groups or organisations
usually are qualitative data
can be statistical
favoured by interpretivists
personal documents
these can be letters, diaries, memoirs, autobiographies
personal documents strengths - theoretical
usually written for personal purposes usually high in validity - THEORETICAL
personal documents weaknesses - theoretical
not all groups produce personal documents - THEORETICAL (not representative)
hindsight may change data - THEORETICAL (not valid - qualitative feelings may change)
if an audience is in mind this may change data - THEORETICAL
documents are entirely one sided - only getting one persons perspective - THEORETICAL
public documents
these can be reports from governments, charities and businesses
public documents strengths - theoretical
the government reports on all areas of policy - THEORETICAL
they are usually rich in detail - THEORETICAL
representative - cover lots of areas - THEORETICAL
public documents weaknesses - theoretical
the author is aware the documents will be public so there may be bias in selection and presentation of data - THEORETICAL
only show data that supports the perspective and case - THEORETICAL
how do you know if public documents are useful
JOHN SCOTT suggests 4 tests
authenticity - Is it genuine
credibility - can you believe the content
representativeness - does it reflect the views of a social group
meaning - can you interpret meanings correctly
official statistics
quantitative
positivists :)
collected by government bodies
official statistics strengths - practical
very easy to access -PRACTICAL
usually free - PRACTICAL
official statistics weaknesses
the government collect statistics for their own benefit so they may not cover what you are looking to study - THEORETICAL
hard and soft statistics may lead to hidden or dark figures:
hard = statistics on birth, death = valid
soft= police records, don’t record all crimes = less valid
personal documents strengths - practical
usually cheap and quick (if you can access them) - PRACTICAL
personal documents weaknesses - practical
not all groups produce personal documents - PRACTICAL (can’t find data you want)
public documents strengths - practical
usually quick and cheap to access - PRACTICAL
official statistics strengths - theoretical
often over the entire country - THEORETICAL
