Types of Data (AQA AS Sociology): Revision Note

Sources of data

• Sociological research involves collecting data to understand and explain the social world

• Sociologists can choose from a range of research methods depending on the type of data they want to collect:

  • Primary or secondary data

  • Quantitative or qualitative data

• They use this data to build theories that explain social patterns or behaviour — for example, to explore why crime rates vary across different social groups

Primary & secondary data

Primary data

• Collected directly by sociologists for their research

• Data collected first-hand from participants, often gathered to test a hypothesis

• Sources of primary data include

  • questionnaires

  • structured interviews

  • unstructured and group interviews

  • participant observation

  • non-participant observation

  • experiments

Secondary data

• Data that already exists, therefore, is known as second-hand data

• Data that has been previously collected by someone else

• Sources of secondary data include

  • state-produced official statistics

  • the mass media, e.g., newspapers and websites

  • personal documents, e.g. letters, diaries or autobiographies

Evaluation of primary & secondary data

Qualitative & quantitative data

Quantitative data

• Quantitative data is numerical data and is usually presented in graphs, bar charts or tables

• Numerical data is used to identify patterns and create statistics

  • E.g., 64% of headteachers in England are male

• Sources of quantitative primary data include:

  • standardised, large-scale methods such as questionnaires

• Sources of quantitative secondary data include:

  • official statistics, e.g., statistics on police-recorded crime

Qualitative data

• Qualitative data is non-numerical data and is presented in visual or verbal form, such as words and/or images

  • E.g., a photograph describing education in the early 20th century

• Sources of qualitative primary data include:

  • less standardised methods, such as unstructured interviews or participant observation

• Sources of quantitative secondary data include:

  • mass media, e.g. newspapers or TV

  • personal documents like letters and photographs

Evaluation of quantitative & qualitative data