Secondary Sources of Data: Quantitative Methods (AQA GCSE Sociology)
Revision Note
Written by: Raj Bonsor
Reviewed by: Cara Head
Official statistics
Information or data collected by other individuals or organisations is known as secondary data
Other researchers or government organisations would have gathered this information.
It is available to sociologists second-hand to use in their research
Quantitative secondary data is presented in statistical form and examples include birth rates, marriage rates, and unemployment rates
Government agencies like the Office for National Statistics (ONS) compile official statistics
The ONS is responsible for the census, which is a questionnaire survey that is sent to every household in England and Wales
Evaluation of official statistics
Advantages of official statistics | Limitations of official statistics |
|---|---|
Official statistics save time and money because they already exist, are readily available online, and cover many aspects of social life. | Interpretivist sociologists argue that official statistics on divorce or unemployment tell us nothing about what it means to the individuals involved. Therefore, they lack insight. |
They are based on large samples and are more likely to be representative, such as the census, which is based on the whole population of England and Wales. | Sociologists can't check the validity of official statistics, as some may not measure what they are supposed to be measuring, such as domestic violence statistics. |
They allow sociologists to investigate trends over time, such as the change in crime, marriage, divorce and birth rates, particularly when new legislation has been introduced. | Interpretivists argue that official statistics are a social construct. The statistics are based on decisions made by people involved in their construction; for example, a police officer may decide not to record a crime that is reported, which impacts crime statistics. |
Official statistics can be combined with qualitative data in mixed methods research to allow comparisons to be made. For example, official statistics provide quantitative data on gender and subject choice. Any differences can be explored further by collecting qualitative data via in-depth interviews. | Official statistics may not fully fit the sociologist's research aim. For example, divorce statistics provide information on the number of divorces recorded each year but exclude the number of empty-shell marriages and separations. Therefore, the data can lack validity. |
Non-official statistics
Many non-governmental bodies in the UK produce statistics, e.g.
banks
trade associations
charities
market research organisations
These are referred to as non-official statistics, which can be used in sociological research to save time and money, particularly as they can be accessed easily online
They share many of the advantages and disadvantages as official statistics; however, they do not share the same level of quality as official statistics
Data collected by other researchers
Sociologists sometimes analyse quantitative and qualitative data that other researchers have already collected
Sociologists can access quantitative data from large, high-quality surveys online, such as the UK Data Archive, and use it for their own research
Evaluation of using existing quantitative data for secondary analysis
Advantages | Limitations |
|---|---|
Researchers can save time and money by analysing pre-existing data from surveys rather than collecting data from scratch. | The researcher has no control over the quality of the data as they did not collect it. |
Many of the data sets, such as the Millennium Cohort Study, are of high quality as they are based on large samples that are somewhat representative. | The data was collected for other purposes; some key variables may be missing. For example, a researcher who is studying happiness and optimism might find that the data set only includes one of these variables but not both. |
It is possible to carry out longitudinal analysis of this data. | The variables may have been defined differently than the researcher would have chosen. |
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Remember to use appropriate sociological terminology to show that you understand the strengths and weaknesses of each research method.
Avoid using terms such as 'accurate' or 'clear' as strengths of research methods or 'inaccurate' and 'flawed' as weaknesses. You should use sociological terms such as valid or reliable.
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