Outline the sources of secondary data that sociologists use and assess their advantages and disadvantages

2 data sources: Censuses, surveys (population, demographic information, occupational distributions)&Tax records (production information, shipping information, exports and imports, wealth).

The Extent to Which Sociologists Agree that Official Criminal Statistics Do Not Give an Accurate Picture of the Extent in Terms of Crime

Data and statistics is able to be collected through a number of different ways to gather information, the majority of people have taken part

Damned Lies and Statistics Reflection Damned Lies and Statistics by Joel Best gives the reader a whole new perspective on the idea of quantitative data. His central argument is that just because someone gives you a statistic doesn’t mean that statistic is accurate. He informs people to pay attention to the statistics that they see and hear about. People naturally assume that because they are being given a number, that number has to be true. Joel Best teaches us to be more observant of numbers and to ask questions such as who is presenting these numbers and why they are presenting them.

In Neil Postman’s short essay, “Social Science as Moral Theology,” he describes the social sciences, such as sociology and psychology, not as sciences, but rather as “moral theology” and as “storytelling.” The authors of the textbook Sociology the Essentials would dispute these claims by arguing that social scientists are doing science with their work. In the third chapter labeled, “Doing Sociological Research” there is a section called “The Tools of Sociological Research” that goes into detail of all the different ways sociologists can gather research.

A questionnaire is a list of a research or survey questions asked to respondents, and designed to extract quantitative date. Questionnaires are easily distributed to the community and can be completed and collected on the spot or be emailed or posted back to the researcher. Self completed questionnaires are the most common survey as they are cheap and can be passed to a lot of people. Some sociologists tend not to use questionnaires because of their low response rate and lack of validity. Also, some people may give false information so some researchers like to stick to interviews and experiments for increased accuracy. I will explore why sociologists shy away from using questionnaires.

This emphasis on statistical investigation has had a profound influence on the subsequent development of social research in the uk and how we come to know about and understand the social world. But the investigation and observation of the character and

The official statistics are particularly useful in that they have been collected since 1857 and so provide us with an excellent historical overview of changing trends over time. They also give us a completely accurate view of the way that the criminal justice system processes offenders through arrests, trials and punishments. However, official statistics cannot be taken simply at their face value. They only show crimes which are reported to and recorded by official agencies such as the police. They account for only those crimes which are recognised as such by victims and those detected by the police. Sociologists have argued that there exists a ‘dark figure’ of unrecorded crime. This may be due to social agencies ignoring crimes committed by the ruling class such as white-collar and corporate crime and their views and stereotypes that they have against certain individuals, such as the working-class and ethnic minorities. Arguably, another reason why police recorded may be seem as inaccurate is due to the increased problem of reporting issues. There is evidence that a number of individuals choose not to report a crime on the basis that they have little faith in social agencies or that they feel that the crime may not be serious enough. Positivists favour the official statistics as they believe that they are functional for society, whereas interactionists and Marxists go against the police the statistics as they argue that they are bias. In this essay, I will discuss the

The use of research in the field of sociology has led to many breakthroughs in us as humans understanding both ourselves and our culture around us. As we as society continue working to develop a better understanding of how and why we act and interact with our surroundings we need to continue completing research to answer these questions. Research in sociology has created a better understanding of society and will continue to provide clues into the human mind. However, research must be completed properly and ethically along with proper research methods. Without proper procedures of completing research we as society may receive wrong information or biased answers about questions we want answered. There are four types of research that sociology uses to give us answers about our society and careful consideration must be taken to follow the rules of these research types.

Statistics are culminated from courts and then are the basis of the recorded number of convictions, however these are often criticised

Research is a primary component of sociology. Valid and relevant sociological research is dependent upon a commitment to applying the scientific method in a systematic and organized way in order to ensure maximum objectivity and consistency in research. Complete the following matrix based on a social problem of your choice. The matrix will serve as a guide for creating a preliminary plan for the basic steps of the scientific method.

Sociologists use many different designs and methods to study society and social behavior. Most sociological research involves ethnography, or “field work” designed to depict the characteristics of a population as fully as possible.

By explaining the humanistic perspective proposed by him, the author convincingly demonstrates that sociology is more than its methods, such as surveying, or its theories. There are many sociological theories, but they all are part of the fundamental vision of all processes as the effects of human interactions. Berger (1963) often refers to his own experience of being a sociologist, and this adds reliability to his arguments. Also, despite beginning the book in a light and humorous manner, the author further turns to complicated scientific notions and perspectives; this shows his expertise and makes the book’s major thesis more persuasive.

How much do we really know about our country, our district, or even our hometown? Are statistics really what people think? According to Alan Smith, an inaugural recipient of the Royal Statistical Society's Award for Excellence in Official Statistics, what people think is always extremely different than what the real statistic truly is. In his Ted Talk, entitled “Why We Should Love Statistics”, he discusses his study of statistics which opened up a whole new vision of the subject for me. Before watching this Ted Talk, statistics was simply a more relatable math class. After watching, I see now that statistics is also a method to connect people within communities. In fact, while statistics is a field that involves entirely numbers, it should

Primary and secondary sources are ways in which data can be retrieved. As Serakan (2006) stated, “Primary data refer to information obtained by the researcher on the variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study”. Various evidence suggesting to what methods of primary research can be conducted and which are most effective for the previously mentioned problem description are stated in this chapter.