secondary sources stats and documents

• What are secondary sources in sociology?

  Information created by others for research
• How do sociologists use secondary sources?

  They analyze data gathered by others
• What is secondary data?

  Data gathered by others for their purposes
• How can birth rate statistics be used in sociology?

  To develop or test family-related hypotheses
• What are the two main sources of secondary data?

  • Official statistics
  • Documents
• What are official statistics?

  Quantitative data gathered by official bodies
• What is a major source of official statistics in the UK?

  The decennial Census of the population
• Why does the government collect official statistics?

  For policy-making and planning purposes
• What are two ways of collecting official statistics?

  Registration and official surveys
• What is a disadvantage of official statistics?

  They may not cover sociological interests
• How do definitions used by the state affect official statistics?

  They may differ from sociological definitions
• Why might comparisons using official statistics be difficult?

  Definitions may change over time
• What is the representativeness of official statistics?

  They often provide a more representative picture
• What is the sample size of the 2014 Crime Survey for England and Wales?

  50,000 people
• Why are official statistics considered reliable?

  Compiled in a standardized way by trained staff
• What is a limitation of official statistics regarding reliability?

  Errors may occur during data recording
• What are the advantages of official statistics?

  • Free source of large data sets
  • Allow comparisons between groups
  • Show trends and patterns over time
• What are the disadvantages of official statistics?

  • Collected for government purposes
  • Definitions may differ from sociological ones
  • Changes in definitions complicate comparisons
• What do positivists believe about official statistics?

  They view them as objective social facts
• How did Durkheim use suicide statistics?

  To argue lack of social integration causes suicide
• What is the 'dark figure' in crime statistics?

  Unrecorded crimes not reflected in statistics
• What are hard and soft statistics?

  Hard statistics are accurate; soft are less valid
• How can self-report studies help with crime statistics?

  They provide a more accurate crime picture
• What are the perspectives on official statistics?

  • Positivists: See them as objective and reliable
  • Interpretivists: View them as lacking validity
• What do interpretivists argue about official statistics?

  They lack validity and do not represent reality
• What is the main goal of positivists in using statistics?

  To discover causes of behavior patterns
• How do sociologists view the relationship between statistics and social facts?

  Statistics are seen as measures of social facts
• How can sociologists use statistics to test hypotheses?

  By analyzing data to find correlations
• What are official statistics?

  Quantitative data collected by government bodies
• Why do positivists favor official statistics?

  They are quick, cheap, and easy to access
• How often is the census completed in the UK?

  Every 10 years
• What is a practical advantage of official statistics?

  They are cheap and easy to obtain
• What is a disadvantage of official statistics?

  They may not cover sociologists' interests
• How might definitions differ in official statistics?

  Government definitions may differ from sociologists'
• What are documents in sociological research?

  Secondary data created by individuals or groups
• Why do interpretivists favor documents?

  They contain qualitative data expressing beliefs
• What types of documents are considered personal documents?

  Diaries, memoirs, autobiographies, letters
• What is a validity advantage of personal documents?

  They provide genuine insights into attitudes
• How do personal documents save researchers time?

  They are cheap and readily available
• What is a disadvantage of personal documents?

  Some groups may be underrepresented