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

University of Phoenix Material Scientific Method Matrix 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.

Summer Video One: This video introduces new vocabulary terms. First of all, statistics is the study of variability. Secondly, statistics is broken down into two parts descriptive and inferential. Descriptive is when you collect data and talk about it. Inferential is when you take a sample and use it to make an inference about the population. Thirdly, the video talks about the difference between population and sample. Sample is a smaller part of the population. When you take a sample and come up with an average, that average is called a statistic. When you find the average of population, that average is called a parameter. Lastly, gathering information about the whole population is called a census. In conclusion, a statistic based on a sample helps make an inference about the parameter of the whole population.

Examine the view that theoretical issues are the most important factor influencing sociologist’s choice of research methods.

3. How does a sociologist get new insights about the human condition, in other words: how do they obtain their data? A sociologist obtains their data by the scientific method as described above (utilizing the scientific method) observation, hypothesis testing, data analysis, and generalization. A sociologist would have to ask many questions. Knowledge of history, biological data, and environment are factors to be considered, therefore research would be important too. Seeing how all the facts are related, how the facts affect us, etc, would give new insights about the human condition.

• Semi-tabular method- Using textual and tabular methods • Graphical method- visually presenting the statistical results through the use of graphs Data and statistics is able to be collected through a number of different ways to gather information, the majority of people have taken part

Official crime statistics are measured mainly in one ways which is police recorded crime and it has its own strengths and weaknesses. Unofficial measurements, just like official crime statistics, also have their own strengths and weaknesses. Unofficial measurements can be seen through two major data sources which are social science and private agency records. The social sciences can be seen through victimization surveys and through self-report studies. The legal definition of crime is: ‘A violation of a law in which there is injury to the public or a member of the public and a term in jail or prison, and/or a fine as possible penalties.’ (TheFreeDictionary.com, 2015). Crime statistics are used by the police (to monitor their efficiency), Politicians (to formulate policies), Criminologists (to understand crime that is taking place) and the General public (who will mainly go to the media to find out their information, but they still have access to the crime reports). This essay will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of both official crime statistics and unofficial crime statistics.

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

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

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.

In conclusion, it is clear that there are a lot of reasons as to why some sociologists choose not to use questionnaires when carrying out research. Some of the main

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

There are different factors that influence sociologist's choice of research. Sociologists have to firstly decide what particular area or topic they want to study, in order for them to carry out their research. When sociologists choose a topic, there are two types of sources available to the sociologists, they are Primary and Secondary. Primary is the data collected by the researchers themselves, usually in the form of questionnaires or interviews. Secondary is the data that is already available e.g. official statistics, diaries, historical documents etc. The researcher then has to decide what type of method they will use for their research.

Measuring crime helps criminal justice agencies to reflect on the effectiveness of policies in existence and correctly target resources. Crime statistics are therefore central to solving crime in England and Wales. In order for crime to be tackled effectively, it is vital that it is measured accurately. There are two sources of crime statistics published annually in the UK namely police recorded crime and the Crime Survey of England and Wales. According to the Crime Survey of England and Wales, in total there were 7.1 million incidents of crime in 2013-2014. Although there has been an 11% reduction in crime, several categories of crime such as sexual offences, fraud and public order offences are up from the previous year. In comparison, latest figures from police recorded crime shows no overall change from the previous year, with 3.7 million offences recorded in the year ending March 2014. Whilst Left Realists argue that crime statistics are an accurate indicator of the state of crime in society, the disparities between the sources of crime statistics suggest that crime statistics provide an inaccurate measurement of crime in the UK. Marxists believe that crime statistics are flawed and manipulated by the government in an attempt to deceive the public. Research calculated by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary supports this view as it revealed that more than 800,000 offences are left off the official crime figure in England and Wales each year. It is clear that

Sociological Research: Designs, Methods 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.

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.