Secondary Sources
Sociology: AQA GCSE, topic 6.1.5
Secondary Sources
Secondary sources
- These are data collected by other sociologists.
- This makes the research cheaper as researchers have readily available data.
- Researchers can easily triangulate information.
- They provide easily accessible data.
Secondary sources cont.
- They can be used by researchers to see any social changes that have taken place over the years.
- They can be a good source of information by showing sociologists:
- Examples of good practice.
- Examples of misconduct that should be avoided.
Critical review
- Since all secondary sources are works by others, it is unclear how objective they are.
- This means that all secondary sources need to be critically reviewed.
Government statistics
- Even official statistics collected by the government can be biased.
- Governments have been known to manipulate data to serve their own political agendas.
Surveys
- Surveys conducted by mass media might be funded by parties who have vested interest to show a manipulated reality.
Types of Secondary Source Material
Official statistics
- Official statistics is data collected by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
- They depict changes in the number of people living in the country, the number of marriages, divorces, crimes, suicide rates etc.
Population data
- The census is a population survey that is conducted every ten years to identify the changes that are taking place in British society, such as birth rates, change in family types etc.
- Demography is the study of the population.
Crime Survey for England & Wales (CSEW)
- CSEW is data collected about people’s experience of crime.
- The difference between CSEW and official crime statistics is that CSEW collects information about crimes that haven’t been reported or recorded by the police.
- This survey helps reveal the dark figures of crime (crimes that go unreported and unrecorded), therefore gives a more accurate picture of the true level of crime.
Historical documents
- Historical documents are useful in depicting changes in marriage and family types.
- These are more widely found in local church records.
- Raw census data is released 100 years after recording.
Life histories
- Letters and diaries that include personal details and accounts of people’s daily lives.
- In Young and Willmott's study of 'Symmetrical Family', they used diary notes that they had asked their participants to take.
Mass media
- Radio and TV broadcasts, magazines and newspapers are archived.
- This means that they can be a valuable source of data.
- Their content analysis can give sociologists a source of up-to-date data.
Test yourself on Secondary Sources
What is the study of the population called?
What is the Crime Survey for England & Wales (CSEW)?
Who is responsible for collecting official statistics?