secondary

• What are secondary sources-

  Data that already exists, can be historical or contemporary
• Why use secondary sources?

  -saves time and money

  -many secondary sources include data that is beyond the scope of sociologists to collect eg census

  -they allow for studies of societies in the past
• Disadvantages-

  -produced by non-sociologists for their own purposes. they therefore may not include the specific data that sociologists are interested in eg:

  -they may use concepts that do not fit with sociological theories

  -the categories used may change, making comparisons over time difficult
• Positivist view of official statistics-

  -viewed as both valid and reliable. For example, Durkheim used suicide statistics which he regarded as social facts, to investigate the causes of suicide
• Interpretivist view on official statistics-

  -not facts but merely an interpretation produced by government agencies

  -they argue it is impossible to produce objective, reliable and valid statistics
• Formal content analysis-

  -content is classified and counted
• Thematic analysis-

  -examines the message behind the portrayal of a particular topic
• Textual analysis-

  -involves detailed analysis of small pieces of text
• The internet as a secondary source-

  Stein- identifies that there are often no editorial or review processes to ensure the validity of the data, consequently it needed to be used with caution