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EnglandSociologyQuick questions
Researching and understanding social inequalities (Component 2)
Quick questions on Secondary data and official statistics - OCR A-Level Sociology Component 2
5short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is official statistics?Show answer
Positivists value official statistics as cheap, large-scale, representative social facts that reveal patterns and trends over time, ideal for studying inequality in income, employment or health. Interpretivists counter that statistics are socially constructed: they reflect official definitions, recording practices and patterns of non-reporting, so for example racist incidents or domestic abuse may be heavily understated. A statistic, on this view, tells you as much about how it was collected as about the world.
What are documents?Show answer
Documents are written or recorded sources:
What is content analysis?Show answer
Content analysis systematically studies the content of documents and media. It can be quantitative (coding and counting themes, such as how often a group appears) or qualitative (interpreting meaning). It is widely used for analysing media representations of class, gender and ethnicity. The choice of secondary source, like any method, is shaped by practical, ethical and theoretical (PET) factors.
What is q1?Show answer
Outline two types of document used in sociological research. [4 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
Outline and explain two reasons why interpretivists are critical of official statistics. [10 marks]
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