Secondary Sources n This is data which already exists – letters, diaries, novels, stats, newspapers, films etc etc It can be in either quantitative or.

Secondary Sources

This is data which already exists – letters, diaries, novels, stats, newspapers, films etc etc It can be in either quantitative or qualitative form

Official StatisticsThis mainly refers to data already in existence

having been collected by governments, for example, statistics relating to births, marriages, deaths, health, crime, the economy and so on.

Official statistics are seen as scientific because they are collected in a highly standardised way. For example, births, marriages, divorces and deaths have to be registered, by law. Government surveys such as the Census, the General Household Survey and the British Crime Survey are viewed as highly reliable and objective in their design,

Official Statistics - Advantages They are readily available Sample sizes are large = better

representativeness Usually well planned and detailed

questionnaires Their use saves time, effort and

money.

Official Statistics - Advantages

They have been scientifically collected.

They give a wide-ranging picture of social phenomena.

They have excellent comparative value in that they allow examination of trends over time.

Official Statistics - Disadvantages

Sociologists must ask how they are created.

Atkinson found coroners in different countries gave different verdicts to the same deaths.

Stats are social creations (man/woman made)

Official Statistics - Disadvantages

Official stats may have political bias The definition of unemployment has

changed many times to make the figures look better.

Stats don’t always give the whole picture –

Crime figures don’t tell us about the ‘dark figure’ (unreported and unrecorded crime)

Official Statistics – theoretical issues Positivists See them as providing essential quantitative data. Useful

for looking at correlations. Durkheim used stats on suicide to help establish sociology as the science of society

Interpretivists Stats are not facts but are social creations (man/woman

made). They are not objective realities but constructed by people. E.g. Atkinson showed how suicide stats are the results of coroner’s decisions about death classifications – these can vary from coroner to coroner and country to country.

Marxists See stats as tools of the ruling class. They are used to

justify the established order in capitalist systems.

Documents Covers a wide range of written material –

letters, diaries, memoirs, novels, newspapers, photos, music recordings etc

Ray Pawson gives 3 main ways in which documents are analysed by sociologists

Formal Content Analysis Thematic Analysis Textual Analysis

Documents Formal Content Analysis Objective way of classifying and

quantifying a document’s contents e.g. how many female roles are

displayed in a child’s book These are simply counted and

interpreted

Documents Formal Content Analysis Critics say it says little about the

meaning of a document – either what the producer intended or what the audience attaches to it

Documents Thematic Analysis This looks for motives behind the

document Does a news report favour powerful

groups in society? The Glasgow University Media Group

looked at the reporting of strikes in the 1970-80’s

Documents Thematic Analysis Critics ask whether the sociologist’s

interpretation is correct. Even if it is – does it matter? eg. Many Sun readers ignore or see

through the right wing bias.

Documents Textual Analysis The text is closely examined to

see if it gives a particular impression

“Gay footballer hands in transfer request’

– what does this say?

Documents Textual Analysis Critics again point to the possibility of

reading things into the text which may not be there

Audience Research Some researchers argue that the focus

of research should be the audience and how they interact with the media and what they use it for!

Audience Research Kitzinger 1993 She used ‘The News Game’ Groups from different backgrounds

were given 13 photos of AIDS and asked to write a news report

She found that they were able to select their own interpretations of the news

i.e. people do read between the lines of the news they watch/read about

Audience Research Philo 2002 Looked at BBC and ITN news reports of the

Israel/Palestine conflict They showed the reports to 300 17-22 year

olds The reports made little reference to the

background of the conflict When asked why Palestinians distrust the USA 66% has no idea Most people watching the reports had little

idea what it was all about.

Historical Documents Historical documents such as government

reports and White Papers, historical treatises, diaries and even novels from a particular period may add qualitative insight into the evolution of social phenomena and problems.

For example, police documents from the 1930s and 1940s may give us invaluable insight into modern policing methods.

The novels of Dickens may give us insight into poverty in the nineteenth century whilst those of Jane Austen may help us understand gender relations in the early nineteenth century.

Historical Documents Using Historical documents Often very subjective accounts Bias and prejudice mean that the sociologist

must treat with care However they can provide a rich in depth view of

what life was like in a bygone age. Anne Frank’s diary shows us a deep insight into

life under Nazi rule in Holland Interpretations of such documents can differ

according to the researcher’s views, background etc

Assessing Historical Documents John Scott 1990

Gives 4 quality controls for assessing the usefulness of historical documents

1. Authenticity

Is it genuine? The Hitler diaries in the 1980’s were found to

be forgeries – but fooled top historians at first.

Assessing Historical Documents 2. Credibility

Is the author sincere? Or does he/she distort things

And how do you know? Check against other material from the

same era

Assessing Historical Documents 3. Representativeness

Is it typical? Does it fit in with other accounts from the

same time? This can be difficult to assess if few

documents from the same era have survived

Assessing Historical Documents 4. Meaning

Literal meaning of the text – problems with language

But also the meanings and significance – are these clear?

Often such meanings can never be settled and we rely on assumptions

Personal Documents

These are documents used by sociologists which record part of an individual’s life. Some of these documents may be in their own words, for example, in the form of a diary, letters or autobiography.

They may be in the words of others, for example, biographies. The use of biographies by sociologists is further complicated by the fact that they are likely to be based on historical documents, with their potential drawbacks, as we have seen.

Gordon Marshall notes that use of personal documents may even stretch to the analysis of photographs and gravestones.

Personal Documents

Some sociologists may ask people taking part in their research to keep a diary documenting their activities and feelings.

For example, Ann Oakley asked women in her study of housework to report activities occupying each hour of the day. This is known as time-budgeting.

This type of method is regarded as very comprehensive because it focuses on aspects of behaviour which are very difficult to anticipate in questionnaires and interviews.

Personal Documents

However, some sociologists suggest that this method is too subjective because it is over-dependent on the interpretation of the subjects. They may be more concerned with justifying their activities than with objectively recounting their experiences.

Life histories or autobiographies may also be elicited through oral interviews. Survivors of particular historical and eras and events such as the First World War and the Holocaust may be able to give sociologists important first-hand information about their experience of such events. Older relatives may be able to give us insight into experience of social policies such as the tripartite education system which we are unable to glean from textbooks.

Personal Documents

However, life histories can be problematic. The people whose memories we use may not be representative of the population. Their recall of facts from the past may not be accurate or may be overly subjective and therefore biased.

Other Types Of research

Case Studies

Case Studies look at a single example of something –a workplace, an individual

a school (like Willis)

a religious group (Barker and The Moonies

Case Studies

Advantages

By focusing on one case they provide rich detailed information

Can help to provide info for larger research projects

Theories can be tested to see if they apply in particular situations

Eg. Labelling in schools, the degree of secularisation in a town

Case Studies

Disdvantages Seen as limited and unrepresentative They are ‘one offs’ and generalisations

can’t be made

Longitudinal studies These are

studies over a period of time – remember the 7UP progs – though this is not a sociological study.

Longitudinal studies

Parker 1999 Looked at illegal drug use between 1991-5

in Merseyside & Greater Manchester At the start they were 14 at the end they

were 18 This helped to look at drug experimenting

over this key period of youth development Just in case u were wondering – cannabis

was the most used

Longitudinal studies

Advantages Looks at events over time Changes in attitudes, behaviour – even

society itself can be observed

Longitudinal studies

Disadvantages Time consuming and expensive Keeping the same sample is difficult People drop out National Child Development Study

started in 1958 with over 17000 children By 1999 this was down to 11000 People die, emigrate, refuse to take part

etc

The Comparative Method

These simply make comparisons between different societies – or between groups within the same society – or within groups/societies over a period of time

The Comparative Method Durkheim & Suicide Durkheim compared suicide rates

across different European countries And between groups within countries This led him to conclude that

Catholics have lower suicide rates than Protestants

See Suicide notes Marx used the comparative approach

in his research on Capitalism

The Comparative Method A Natural lab Although the variables can’t be

controlled This method allows use of ‘natural

labs’ e.g. Europe provided a natural lab

for Durkheim

The Comparative Method Cross-cultural studies Comparing different countries,

cultures, sub-cultures etc helps us to understand the nature/nurture debate

e.g. Gender differences in different countries point to the importance of culture rather than nature

The Comparative Method The comparative method has its

advantages but it does pose problems when comparing cross cultural factors.

Was Durkheim comparing the same thing in different countries? Atkinson didn’t think so when he compared English and Danish coroners

Triangulation – Methodological Pluralism Since the 1990s especially,

sociologists have tended to use the terms triangulation or methodological pluralism to describe mixing different methods.

Often these terms are used interchangeably. However, they do not mean exactly the same thing.

Triangulation – Methodological Pluralism Triangulation can be defined as the use of more than one

method of research in order to assess the validity of one’s research methods and especially of the data produced.

Usually, it involves the use of a method which generates quantitative data – this may be primary data from a survey or secondary data from official sources.

More often than not, this is combined with a more interactive method such as unstructured interviews or observation, which generate qualitative data.

Triangulation

Observation

Interviews Questionnaires

Triangulation – Methodological Pluralism Methodological pluralism refers to the employment by the

social researcher of more than one method of research, but the emphasis here is not on the validity of the data, as with triangulation.

Rather, it is to build up a fuller and more comprehensive picture of social life.

Triangulation – Methodological Pluralism For example, I might be interested in the

distinction between what people say they do and what they actually do. I can acquire information by using interviews to explore what people think, say and believe and then use observation to find out whether they put what they say into practice or not.

Triangulation – Methodological Pluralism The two methods elicit different types of

data and also act as a form of check on the reliability of the methods used. Such an approach is useful because the advantages of one method may help compensate for, and at least partially overcome, the limitations of another

Triangulation – Methodological Pluralism Advantages Gives a more complete picture of the group

being studied Qualitative and Quantitative data can be used

to check on the accuracy of the conclusion Reliability and validity are both covered Qual research can help to explain

correlations found in quan research 2. Qual research can provide the hypothesis - quan research can check it

Triangulation – Methodological Pluralism Disdvantages Time consuming and expensive Can lead to conflicting evidence

Triangulation – Methodological Pluralism Eileen Barker – Making Of A Moonie 1984

In the 1970’s Barker studied the Unification Church (Moonies)

They had been accused of brainwashing and breaking up families

Triangulation – Methodological Pluralism

Famous for mass weddings – only 60,000 at this one

Triangulation – Methodological Pluralism

These intended spouses were 1000’s of miles away so sent a pic instead!

Triangulation – Methodological Pluralism Barker used 3 main

methods In-depth interviews (6-8

hrs) Participant

Observation (at several centres over the 7 years)

42 page questionnaire Her research lasted 7

years

Triangulation – Methodological Pluralism

She believed her approach gave her much fuller information than any one data source could have done.