Which is an example of official statistics?

government figures on unemployment. They are numbers published by the government.

What is content analysis?

counting how often something appears in the media. It turns media content into numbers.

Which is a limitation of digital sources?

the author and accuracy are often unknown. Anyone can post anything.

Why might official crime statistics lack validity?

many crimes are never reported or recorded. The figures miss part of the picture.

Why are personal documents usually low in representativeness?

only some people write them, and they give one person's view. One diary does not speak for a whole population.

Secondary evidence · Cambridge IGCSE Sociology 0495 revision

In plain words

A sociologist does not have to knock on a single door. Governments count almost everything, people leave diaries and letters, and the internet records what millions say every minute. The skill is in knowing how far to trust each source.

8 things to know

Official statistics are numerical data collected and published by governments and their agencies, such as figures for births, marriages, crime, unemployment and exam results.
Official statistics: strengths. They are cheap and easy to obtain, they cover very large numbers of people, and they are collected regularly, so trends can be seen.
Official statistics: limitations. They are collected for the government's purposes, and its definitions may not match the sociologist's. They may not be valid: crime figures, for example, leave out crimes that were never reported. Governments may present figures to look good.
Historical documents include old census records, government reports and newspapers. They may be the only evidence of the past. They can be incomplete or biased, and nobody can be asked to explain them.
Personal documents include diaries, letters, photographs and autobiographies. They show feelings and meanings, so validity can be high. They are not representative, and the writer may have wanted to look good.
Digital sources include websites, blogs, forums and social media posts. There is a huge amount, it is up to date and it is free. The author may be unknown, the content may be false, and people online are not typical of everyone.
Media content includes newspapers, television, films and advertisements. Sociologists study how groups are represented, often by content analysis, which means counting how often something appears.
Media content is selective and may be biased. It shows how the media present the world, not what audiences think.

Worked example

A sociologist uses police statistics to study whether crime is rising in a city. Evaluate this choice of evidence.

Strength: the figures are free, cover the whole city and go back many years, so a trend can be seen.
Limitation: they show only crimes that were reported to the police and recorded by them.
A rise could mean more crime, or only that more victims are reporting it.
So validity is in doubt, and a victim survey would be a useful second source.

Tips and tricks

For official statistics, the key criticism is validity: they measure what was reported and recorded, which is not the same as what happened.
Content analysis turns qualitative media content into numbers. That makes it reliable, but it says little about meaning.

5 questions, about 2 minutes.

It lands in your notebook with its questions as flashcards.

Secondary evidence: 5 questions and answers

These are the quiz’s questions. Do the quiz first, then come back here for the ones that got you.

Which is an example of official statistics?
- a diary
- a television advertisement
- government figures on unemployment (the answer)
- a blog post
They are numbers published by the government.
What is content analysis?
- interviewing journalists
- counting how often something appears in the media (the answer)
- reading official statistics
- observing people watching television
It turns media content into numbers.
Which is a limitation of digital sources?
- there is too little material
- it is always out of date
- it costs a great deal to access
- the author and accuracy are often unknown (the answer)
Anyone can post anything.
Why might official crime statistics lack validity?
- many crimes are never reported or recorded (the answer)
- they cover too many people
- they are published too often
- they are written in words
The figures miss part of the picture.
Why are personal documents usually low in representativeness?Stretch
- they are collected by governments
- only some people write them, and they give one person's view (the answer)
- they contain too many numbers
- they are always forged
One diary does not speak for a whole population.

5 questions

Tap an answer and you’ll see straight away whether it’s right, and why.

Worksheet

3 questions, 10 marks. Write your answers on paper, then check them.

Secondary evidence

Cambridge IGCSE Sociology 0495 · 10 marks · papermunch.org

Name ______________________________ Date ______________

What is meant by the term "official statistics"?[2]
Show answerHide answer
Numerical data collected and published by governments and their agencies.
I got this one
Explain two strengths of official statistics.[4]
Show answerHide answer
Any two, each explained: they are cheap and easy to access, saving time and money; they cover very large numbers, so they are representative; they are collected regularly, so trends over time can be identified; they are collected in a standard way, so they are reliable.
I got this one
Explain one strength and one limitation of using personal documents such as diaries.[4]
Show answerHide answer
Strength: they give insight into a person's real thoughts and feelings, so they can be high in validity. Limitation: they are the view of one person, so they are not representative (or: the writer may be biased or writing to impress a reader).
I got this one

Answers: Secondary evidence

1. Numerical data collected and published by governments and their agencies.
2. Any two, each explained: they are cheap and easy to access, saving time and money; they cover very large numbers, so they are representative; they are collected regularly, so trends over time can be identified; they are collected in a standard way, so they are reliable.
3. Strength: they give insight into a person's real thoughts and feelings, so they can be high in validity. Limitation: they are the view of one person, so they are not representative (or: the writer may be biased or writing to impress a reader).