Flashcards on Secondary Sources (3.7)

Who collects official statistics?

Are official statistics qualitative or quantitative?

The Census is an example of a major source of official statistics. How frequently is the Consensus conducted?

What does the government use official statistics for?

There are two ways of collecting official statistics. What are they?

In addition to the government, what other bodies might produce official statistics?

Both the advantages and the disadvantages of official statistics largely stem from what?

Official statistics offer several practical advantages. Give examples:

However, official statistics can also have practical disadvantages. Give examples:

Another advantage of official statistics is their representativeness. Why are they so representative?

However, some statistics less representative than others. Give an example:

Official statistics can also be regarded as reliable. Why?

However, official statistics are not always wholly reliable. Give an example:

A major problem with using official statistics is that of validity. It can be asked whether they actually measure the thing that they claim to measure. In answering this, sociologists distinguish between two types of statistics. What are they?

What do positivists think about official statistics?

Positivists often use official statistics to test their hypotheses. This is what Durkheim used when studying what?

What do interpretivists think about official statistics?

What do marxists think about official statistics?

What does the term 'documents' refer to?

What are the two types of documents?

Who produces public documents?

Public documents include the official reports of public enquiries. Give an example:

Give examples of personal documents:

Give a famous early example of a study using personal documents:

In addition to public and personal documents, sociologists also identify historical documents. What are these?

Why are historical documents usually the only source of information available when studying the past?

Which sociologist used historical documents in the form of paintings when studying the middle ages?

Which sociologist argues that when it comes to assessing documentary sources, the general principles are the same as those for any other type of sociological evidence?

Scott put forwards four criteria for evaluating documents. What are they?

What is meant by authenticity?

What is meant by credibility?

What is meant by representativeness?

What is meant by meaning?

Although documents must be assessed carefully before being used, they do have many advantages. Give examples:

What is content analysis?

What is content analysis best known for?

Documents produced by the mass media are usually qualitative. However, what does content analysis allow?

Which sociologist describes how content analysis works?

Which sociologist used content analysis to analyse gender roles in children's reading schemes?

Content analysis has several advantages. Give examples:

Which perspective is fond of content analysis and why?

What do interpretivists think of content analysis?