Distinction between primary & secondary data and between quantitative and qualitative data - Topic 3 - Theory and Methods

Primary data refers to data that has been collected by the sociologists themselves from questionnaires, interviews, participant or non-participant observation.

Secondary data refers to data that already exists that can include the research of other sociologists, journalists, official statistics, diaries, and official statistics (e.g. census).

Qualitative data

Qualitative data is data that is obtained from research methods such as unstructured interviews and it is made up content based on words rather than reducing answers to numbers. 

Qualitative secondary data

Qualitative secondary data can include media reports, novels, diaries, letters, autobiographies, historical documents, parish records, school records, previous sociological studies, police records and some official government reports. 

Advantages of Qualitative secondary data

- it can provide a valuable insight into life and information from the past

- it can be useful for Sociologists to get an insight into the ideologies and attitudes of the people who proceeded the documents, e.g. the casual racism and sexism in the personal letters and diaries from many figures from the past.

For example, an article that Boris Johnson wrote in a newspaper in 1995 came back to haunt him when he became Prime Minister. In this article he said, "blue collar men are likely to be drunk, criminal, aimless, feckless and hopeless". The benefit of this qualitative article is that it gives us an insight into the writers state of mind at the time.

Here is the article - https://fullfact.org/online/Boris-Johnson-working-men/

Another famous bank of qualitative data is from Anne Frank's diary which she wrote while hiding from the Nazis during World War 2. It gives a huge insight into life at the time through the eyes and mind of a child.

In addition, letters sent home from the front from the world wars also helps to give an in-depth insight into the lives and conditions of solders at war.

Disadvantages of Qualitative Secondary Sources

Points to consider when using/researching qualitative secondary sources

- Authenticity 

- Credibility

- Representativeness 

- Meaning 

Quantitative Secondary Sources

Quantitative secondary sources include a huge variety of statistical information produced by governments, pressure groups, charities, universities, medical associations like WHO, and international organisations like EU, IMF and WEF.

Advantages of Official Statistics

- official statistics can provide large scale insight into trends in society and highlight problems that may need addressed through social policies at government level

- they are readily available and cheap to use, e.g. census info is free online

- they show social trends over a long period of time

- the can help sociologists decide what needs to be researched and aid hypothesis development

- they avoid ethical issues, e.g. keeping confidentiality 

Disadvantages of Official Statistics 

Official statistics are collected by the state and can be freely accessed at ONS - Office of National Statistics. The government and media will often look to these figures for trends but there are problems associated with official statistics. 

Birth rates, death rates, marriage and divorce rates are all probably very accurate but there can be problems with crime statistics, health statistics, suicide statistics and even unemployment statistics. 

Statistics can be massaged to suit an agenda, e.g. state interests in making unemployment appear to be low, or making NHS waiting lists seem lower to make the government look good.

Interpretivists are very critical of official statistics, claiming that they are mere social constructs that represent the actions, interpretations and motives of those who compile the figures.

- Suicide statistics are seen by interpretivists as social constructions that represent the behaviour of coroners, doctors and relatives in their definitions of suicide. These figures tell us more about those compiling the data than the real suicide rate. Many suicides are hidden, e.g. by families hiding notes.

- Health statistics - not all sick people go to the doctor. If they don't go to the doctor then their illness is not recorded, therefore the statistics are off.

- Crime statistics are also problematic as the statistics only show crimes that are actually reported to police. Interpretivists claim that there is a dark number of unreported crimes. Many people do not report all crime to the police and many crimes go undetected and unpunished, e.g. white collar crime that we will explore in depth in the Crime and Deviance module.