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Types of data
Primary and secondary sources of data
Primary data: information collected by sociologists themselves for their own
purposes.
Methods for collecting primary data include:
Social surveys
Participant observation
Experiments
An advantage of using primary data is that sociologists can ensure that the
information gathered will help test their hypotheses exactly.
A disadvantage of using primary data is that it is often time consuming and
costly.
Secondary data: information that has been collected or created by
someone else for their own purposes, but which the sociologist can use.
Sources of secondary resources include:
Official statistics
Documents
An advantage of using secondary data is that it can be quick and cheap as
someone has already produced the information.
A disadvantage is that the sociologist who produced the information may
not have the same interests as you so their data does not provide the
information you need.
Quantitative and qualitative data
Quantitative data: information in a numerical form.
Types of data 1
1
, E.g. official statistics, the number of girls who passed five or more
GCSEs.
Surveys and polls often produce quantitative data.
Qualitative data: information that gives a feel for what something is like.
Participant observations and interviews often produce qualitative data.
Types of data 2
2
, Factors influencing choice of
method and topic
Practical issues
Time and money
Different methods require different amounts of time and money and this
may influence the sociologists’ choice.
The researcher’s access to resources will affect which method they opt
for.
Requirements of funding bodies
Organizations that provide the funding for research may request that
the results come in a particular form.
E.g. asking that the data specifically comes in the form of quantitative
data rather than qualitative → the researcher uses a method that easily
creates quantitative data.
Personal skills and characteristics
The individual skills a sociologist has may affect their ability to use
certain research methods.
E.g. interviews require an ability to establish a good relationship with
the interviewee. If the researcher struggles to do this then they may
choose a different research method.
Subject matter
Some subject matters may be harder to study using one research
method compared to another.
E.g. questionnaires would be useless to use for studying people are
illiterate.
Research opportunity
When the opportunity to conduct research occurs unexpectedly it
becomes difficult to use more organised research methods such as
questionnaires.
Factors influencing choice of method and topic 1
3
, AO2: Patrick (1973): his chance to study a gang came out of the blue so
he had no choice but to use participant observations.
Ethical issues
Ethical issues: moral issues of rights and wrong.
The British Sociological Association sets out ethnical guidelines.
Informed consent
The research participants have the right to withdraw and the researcher
should tell them about all the relevant parts of the research so than
make a fully informed decision.
The researcher needs to gain this consent before the research begins
and throughout the process if the study is long.
Confidentiality and privacy
The identity of participants should be kept private in order to prevent
any negative consequences.
Any personal information should be kept confidential.
Researchers should respect their participants’ privacy.
Harm to research participants
Researchers should be aware of any possible risks of their research
and do their best to prevent such harm.
Such harm includes the need for police intervention, psychological
damage, harm to employment prospects and social exclusion.
Vulnerable groups
Extra care should be taken when participants are vulnerable due to their
age, disability or health.
E.g. when researching children the researcher should be aware of
issues to do with child protection, obtain the consent of both the
parents and child and ensure that they are using language the child is
capable of understanding.
Covert research
Factors influencing choice of method and topic 2
4
Types of data
Primary and secondary sources of data
Primary data: information collected by sociologists themselves for their own
purposes.
Methods for collecting primary data include:
Social surveys
Participant observation
Experiments
An advantage of using primary data is that sociologists can ensure that the
information gathered will help test their hypotheses exactly.
A disadvantage of using primary data is that it is often time consuming and
costly.
Secondary data: information that has been collected or created by
someone else for their own purposes, but which the sociologist can use.
Sources of secondary resources include:
Official statistics
Documents
An advantage of using secondary data is that it can be quick and cheap as
someone has already produced the information.
A disadvantage is that the sociologist who produced the information may
not have the same interests as you so their data does not provide the
information you need.
Quantitative and qualitative data
Quantitative data: information in a numerical form.
Types of data 1
1
, E.g. official statistics, the number of girls who passed five or more
GCSEs.
Surveys and polls often produce quantitative data.
Qualitative data: information that gives a feel for what something is like.
Participant observations and interviews often produce qualitative data.
Types of data 2
2
, Factors influencing choice of
method and topic
Practical issues
Time and money
Different methods require different amounts of time and money and this
may influence the sociologists’ choice.
The researcher’s access to resources will affect which method they opt
for.
Requirements of funding bodies
Organizations that provide the funding for research may request that
the results come in a particular form.
E.g. asking that the data specifically comes in the form of quantitative
data rather than qualitative → the researcher uses a method that easily
creates quantitative data.
Personal skills and characteristics
The individual skills a sociologist has may affect their ability to use
certain research methods.
E.g. interviews require an ability to establish a good relationship with
the interviewee. If the researcher struggles to do this then they may
choose a different research method.
Subject matter
Some subject matters may be harder to study using one research
method compared to another.
E.g. questionnaires would be useless to use for studying people are
illiterate.
Research opportunity
When the opportunity to conduct research occurs unexpectedly it
becomes difficult to use more organised research methods such as
questionnaires.
Factors influencing choice of method and topic 1
3
, AO2: Patrick (1973): his chance to study a gang came out of the blue so
he had no choice but to use participant observations.
Ethical issues
Ethical issues: moral issues of rights and wrong.
The British Sociological Association sets out ethnical guidelines.
Informed consent
The research participants have the right to withdraw and the researcher
should tell them about all the relevant parts of the research so than
make a fully informed decision.
The researcher needs to gain this consent before the research begins
and throughout the process if the study is long.
Confidentiality and privacy
The identity of participants should be kept private in order to prevent
any negative consequences.
Any personal information should be kept confidential.
Researchers should respect their participants’ privacy.
Harm to research participants
Researchers should be aware of any possible risks of their research
and do their best to prevent such harm.
Such harm includes the need for police intervention, psychological
damage, harm to employment prospects and social exclusion.
Vulnerable groups
Extra care should be taken when participants are vulnerable due to their
age, disability or health.
E.g. when researching children the researcher should be aware of
issues to do with child protection, obtain the consent of both the
parents and child and ensure that they are using language the child is
capable of understanding.
Covert research
Factors influencing choice of method and topic 2
4
