Secondary Sources

1. 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

2. Official Statistics This 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,

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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)

6. 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)

7. 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.

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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.

13. 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?

14. Documents • Textual Analysis • Critics again point to the possibility of reading things into the text which may not be there

15. 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!

16. 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

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. 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

20. 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.

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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.

25. 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.

26. 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.

27. 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.

28. 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

29. 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

30. Case Studies • Disdvantages • Seen as limited and unrepresentative • They are ‘one offs’ and generalisations can’t be made

31. Longitudinal studies • These are studies over a period of time – remember the 7UP progs – though this is not a sociological study.

32. 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

33. Longitudinal studies • Advantages • Looks at events over time • Changes in attitudes, behaviour – even society itself can be observed

34. 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

35. 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

36. 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

37. 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

38. 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

39. 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

40. 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.

41. 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.

42. Triangulation Observation Interviews Questionnaires

43. 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.

44. 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.

45. 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

46. 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

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

48. 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

49. Triangulation – Methodological Pluralism • Famous for mass weddings – only 60,000 at this one

50. Triangulation – Methodological Pluralism • These intended spouses were 1000’s of miles away so sent a pic instead!