statistics

Question 1

what are stats

Answer 1

secondary quantitive, valued by positivists

Question 2

what are official stats

Answer 2

wide range of data collected by government department

Question 3

examples of government stats with adv/disadv

Answer 3

• suicide stats Durkheim - unfalsifiable, cause
• health stats eg life expectancy - trends, prevent/improve
• crime stats- not always reported, make up patterns
• the census- large sample, detailed

Question 4

official stats disadvantages

Answer 4

• secondary data so cant control how og data collected
• hidden stats eg unreported crimes
• lack validity as socially constructed
• male bias unpaid domestic work not included as ‘work’ in census
• manipulation- gov may manipulate stats to avoid criticicisms

Question 5

PERVERT official stats

Answer 5

P: easily available
E: no direct involvement
R: easy to identify patterns/trends
V: not as valid as most methods
R: very rep very large sample
T: positivists yes, marxists/rad fem/interpretivists no

Question 6

what are non-official stats

Answer 6

data collected by agencies other than government departments

Question 7

official stats advantages

Answer 7

• readily aavailable= practical + cheap
• can cover wide range of data, large sample- reliable
• rep
• no ethical issues

Question 8

why do interpretivists believe official stats not valid

Answer 8

not facts- interpretation produced requires classification + interpretation

Question 9

why are marxists critical of official stats

Answer 9

systematically distorted by powerful- stats may exaggerate criminality of minority ethnic groups since more likely be arrested