What existing sources can sociologists use as data?
Secondary sources, including official statistics, documents, the mass media and previous sociological research, and the strengths and weaknesses of using existing data.
A focused answer to the AQA GCSE Sociology research methods topic, covering secondary sources such as official statistics, documents and the mass media, and the strengths and weaknesses of using existing data.
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What this dot point is asking
AQA wants you to know the main secondary sources sociologists use and to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of using data that already exists. You should be able to name examples of each type of secondary source and weigh them against concepts such as validity and representativeness.
What are secondary sources?
The main secondary sources
Sociologists distinguish quantitative secondary data (mainly official statistics) from qualitative secondary data (mainly documents and some media). Positivists tend to favour official statistics for spotting patterns, while interpretivists favour personal documents for the meanings they reveal.
It is also worth separating public documents (produced by organisations, such as government reports, school records and company accounts) from personal documents (produced by individuals, such as diaries, letters and photographs). Public documents are often easy to obtain and cover large numbers of people, but they are written for official purposes and may present an organisation in a favourable light. Personal documents can be deeply revealing of private thoughts and feelings, but they may be unrepresentative (only some people keep diaries) and their authenticity and meaning can be hard to check. Sociologists studying the past, such as historical changes in the family, often have no choice but to rely on such documents, because the people involved can no longer be interviewed or observed.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths:
- Often cheap and quick, saving the time and money of collecting new data.
- Can cover large groups and long time periods, allowing comparison over time that primary research rarely can.
- Official statistics are usually representative because they cover whole populations rather than a sample.
Weaknesses:
- May be biased or produced for political or commercial purposes, especially media reports and some official data.
- May lack validity, like crime statistics that miss the dark figure of unreported crime.
- May be out of date or may not measure exactly what the sociologist wants, because they were produced for a different purpose.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of AQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AQA 20184 marksIdentify and explain one weakness of using official statistics in sociological research.Show worked answer →
A four-mark item: choose one weakness and explain it with an example.
One weakness is that official statistics may not be valid: they may not show the true picture. For example, crime statistics miss the dark figure of unreported crime.
Develop the point: because the figures were collected by the government for its own purposes, the way they are defined and counted can hide or distort what is really happening, so sociologists must use them with caution. Markers reward a clear weakness, an explanation and an example.
AQA 20224 marksIdentify and explain one strength of using documents as a secondary source.Show worked answer →
A four-mark item: name a strength and develop it.
One strength is that personal documents such as diaries and letters can give deep, valid insight into people's real thoughts and feelings, which interactionists value.
Develop the point: because they were often written privately rather than for research, they can reveal honest meanings that a questionnaire might miss, giving rich qualitative data. Markers reward a clear strength, an explanation and ideally a link to validity or meaning.
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Sources & how we know this
- AQA GCSE Sociology (8192) specification — AQA (2017)