2.4 - Secondary Sources Of Data

• What is secondary data?

  • data that is collected by a different researcher
• Types of secondary data -

  • previous sociological research
  • official publications
  • diaries
  • novels
  • the media
  • content of the internet
• What is a literature review? -

  • first thing researchers do before they carry out research
  • can see the different ways that the topic has been researched, the conclusions reached and issues shown
  • sociologists can then explore a new angle on the problem that aims to overcome these issues
• What is a meta-analysis?

  • several different studies are combined and analysed
  • helps to find new ways of interpreting results
• What are official statistics?

  • government collects data on these statistics
• What is the Census?

  • largest data collection in the UK
  • happens every 10 years and distributed to every household in the UK
  • easily accessible and more thorough than the other research done by sociologists
• Positivists Views on OS -

  • Emile Durkheim regard OS as both valid and reliable. He uses suicide stats, which he regards as social facts to investigate the causes of suicide.
  • However, many OS are unreliable as many cases are not reported to/by the police
  • It is still possible to produce reliable results if the police can make sure crime questionnaires are conducted correctly by the police (Crime survey for england and wales - annual survey which measures victims of crimes across households)
• Interpretivists views on OS -

  • OS are not facts but merely an interpretation produced by government agencies - it is therefore impossible to produce objective, reliable results (court have a say)
  • all OS are invalid as they are simply the product of catergorisation procedures used to produce crime stats
  • whether a death is a murder, crime or suicide is often a matter of opinions
• Radical Views on OS -

  • all agree that gov stats are distorted by the powerful. They believe governments deliberately define poverty in such a way as to minimise amount being reported, including effects of capitalism
  • the crimes of powerful organisations rarely appear in stats, but crimes of poor are frequently recorded
  • stats may exaggerate criminality of minority ethnic groups and mens domestic violence against women
• What is a social fact?

  • a theory developed by Emile Durkheim to describe how values, cultures and norms control the actions and beliefs of individuals and society as a whole
  • book - 'The Rule Of Sociological Method'
  • the society they belong to shapes these social fact
• What are common social facts?

  • Marriage - social groups tend to have the same views towards marriage (appropriate age, bigamy, polygamy)
  • Language - people living in the same area tend to speak the same language
  • Religion - social facts shape how we view religion
• Positivist Support For Social Facts -

  • they believe sociology can establish social facts: concepts in institutions that are objectively and scientifically verifiable.
  • find a way to operationalise the concept and then objectively measure it through reliable research methods
  • positivists argue sociology can be a science by modelling itself on the natural sciences, using quantitative methods to establish observable patterns in behaviour and develop causal laws
• Interpretivists and Social Facts -

  • Argue sociology cannot be scientific because humans are governed by internal meanings. Subjective meanings that we attach to the world around us.
  • cannot be regarded as social facts because they are social constructs
• Strengths of secondary sources -


  • saves time and money conducting primary research
  • many secondary data sources includes data that is beyond the means of sociologists (census data)
  • allow studies of societies in the past
  • can provide research that might concern illegal research
• Limitations of secondary data -


  • may create bias - the way it is interpreted
  • diary gives a one sided view
  • official statistics are constructed to shed a positive light on the government
  • may use categories or concepts that do not fit in with sociological theories
• What are reports/government inquiries?


  • civil service and other organisations produce reports that investigate important social issues
• Limitations of report/government inquiries -


  • they are constrained by their 'remit' which states the limit to their investigations
  • government and other bodies sometimes are able to exclude discussion of issues that they do not want to become the public of attention
• What are the qualitative secondary sources of data?


  • historical sources
  • life documents
  • novels/autobiographies
  • media and content analysis
• What are historical sources?


  • are vital in studying long term societal changes and how societies have developed
  • Weber - uses religious tracts to study the relationship between religious belief and development of capitalism
• Limitations of historical documents -


  • only some have survived and there is no guarantee these are representative
  • tend to be few surviving and it tends to be the data sociologists do not need
  • reflect the subjective views of those who produced them
  • not accurate in descriptions of the whole society
• What are life documents?


  • private documents created by individuals that record subjective states
  • diaries, letters, photos, suicide notes, films and pictures
• What is an example of a life document?


  • Thomas - used letters and statements to study polish peasants who had emigrated to the USA
• Limitations of life documents -


  • Plummer - rarely used by sociologists as surviving documents may not be representative
  • tend to be highly subjective
  • content may also be influenced by the identity of a person intended to read the document
  • relatively few people keep documents as there is a growth of the internet
• Strengths of life documents -


  • Plummer - believes that life documents are very useful because they allow insights into people's subjective states
  • interpretivist - can reveal personal meanings of individuals in shaping behaviour
• What are novels/autobiographies?


  • novels can give insights into the attitudes and behaviour of particular groups
  • can help a sociologist to understand how the author views the social world around them
• Limitations of novels -


  • fiction so will exaggerate the actions and values for the sake of the story
  • writing books is typically a middle class, which may limit insight into the lower class
• Limitations of autobiographies -


  • authors may be influenced by the type of audience they have in mind when writing
  • may sensationalise events to encourage sales
  • may be influenced by a desire to give a positive impression of themselves
• Strengths of content analysis -


  • tends to be relatively cheap research method
  • media material is easily available
  • few problems with sampling and representativeness
  • content of media is freely available to public
• What are the types of content analysis?


  • formal content analysis
  • textual analysis
  • thematic analysis
• What is formal content analysis?


  • content is classified and counted
  • ADV - provides objective statistical data which positivists regard as social facts, allowing patterns to be discovered
  • DIS - the classification of data may be somewhat subjective and does not directly reveal the meaning behind the content
• What is thematic analysis?


  • examines the message behind the portrayal of a particular topic
  • ADV - makes it possible to examine the messages behind media coverage in order to look for ideological bias
  • DIS - messages are open up to interpretation - audience and researcher interpret differently
• What is textual analysis?


  • involves the detailed analysis of small pieces of text
  • ADV - provides an in depth interpretation of the content of the media
  • DIS - does not provide an overall analysis of the media content and is therefore subjective
• How are official stats used in education?


  • particularly used in levels of attainment and subject choice
  • useful in examining long term trends and making comparisons between different social groups
• What are the practical issues of using OS in education?


  • info required by sociologists is not always available
  • data on class backgrounds or ethnicity of pupils is less often available
  • sociologist have to rely upon occasional survey research carried out by other bodies
  • comparisons between data is more difficult
  • do not always use catergories that sociologists use
• Ethical issues of OS in education -


  • stats produced by individual schools or authorities may not be intended for publication, so could be ethical issues in using published work
• What are the theoretical strengths of using OS in education -


  • comprehensive since state funded organisations are often required to produce them
  • reliable since the government imposes definitions/categories on educational institutions
• What are the theoretical issues of using of OS in education -


  • validity of stats may be open to question
  • schools may deliberately manipulate data in order to secure funding or chances of a favourable OFSTED report
• What are the practical issues of public documents -


  • are not available in such large quantities and are not easy to access
  • availability of documents is patchy and researchers may be granted access to them
  • can be difficult to base a complete study of secondary sources
• What are the ethical issues of public documents -

  • researcher may need to seek informed consent to those whose produced documents
  • school reports could be considered to be confidential and researchers should try to maintain the anonymity of the pupils to whom they refer
• What are the theoretical issues of public documents -


  • validity of public documents may be open to question
  • educationalists would not accept that inspection reports provide a valid assessment of the school
  • school publicity material is likely to put a positive gloss on the image of the performance of the school
  • documents are produced for the government by schools may be manipulated to maximise fundings