official statistics

• practical


  ✅free to access, large scale, allow comparisons, shows trends over time

  ❌trained staff, may be unavailable for sociologists topic, definitions used by state may be different to sociologists
• ethical


  ✅no deception, consent

  ❌ can be misleading
• theoretical


  ✅representative, good for testing hypothesis, reliable

  ❌based on sample of relevant population: can be less representative, lacks validity, gov+police can manipulate
• eval: functionalist


  • Durkheim: valuable resource, social facts, sociology is a science, hypothesis developed
• eval: marxists


  • serves capitalist interests
  • state works for bourgeoisie
  • maintains power
• eval: feminists


  • patriarchal, malestream: collected by men for men