Data

• Why do we research?

  Provides answers to interesting questions based on evidence

  Understand society and contribute to social policy
• Positivism: An approach to studying society which uses scientific methods to gather objective data.
• Interpretivism: An approach to studying society which focuses on the meaningful understanding of human behavior, it focuses on the individual.
• What is primary data?

  Primary data refers to data that is collected firsthand by the researcher for a specific research purpose.
• What is secondary data?

  Secondary data refers to data that has been collected by someone else for a different purpose and is being used by researchers for their own analysis.
• Advantages of primary data:

  • Up to date
  • Relevant to research questions
  • First hand
• Advantages of secondary data:

  • Already collected
  • Easy to research past events
  • Quick and easy to obtain
• Quantitative data: Data that can be measured, counted, or calculated.
• Qualitative data: Data that is not numerical, such as text, pictures, interviews or opinions
• Advantages of quantitative data:

  • Reliable
  • Study of trends
  • Tests hypothesis, easy to analyze
  • Establish causality
  • Objective
• Advantages of qualitative data:

  • Subjective
  • In-depth meaning
  • More personal
  • Close to reality
• Disadvantages of primary data:

  • Costly/time consuming
  • Research bias
• Disadvantages of secondary data:

  • Not always available
  • Bias of original collector
• Disadvantages of quantitative data:

  • Numbers mask reality
  • No focus on the individual
  • Distorts reality
  • Lack of depth
• Disadvantages of qualitative data:

  • Lacks credibility
  • Not scientific
  • Cannot generalize
  • Unreliable
• What are practical factors to consider?

  Time, Cost/funding, Access, Skills, Characteristics of the researcher
• What are ethical factors to consider?

  Moral, Illegality, After affects, Consent, Danger
• What are theoretical factors to consider?

  Positivist or Interpretivist, Reliability or validity