Theory and Methods Secondary Research Methods

“A” Level Sociology

A Resource-Based Learning
Approach

Module One:
Theory and Methods

Unit M5: Secondary Methods

Introduction

Unit M5
Theory and Methods Secondary Methods

In the two previous Units we looked at primary methods of research and, to

complete the Methods Units of this Module we need to now look at secondary
methods of research..

• To begin with, we can broadly define secondary data as any information that
has not been generated personally (first-hand) by the researcher who uses it.

• A secondary method of research, therefore, is one used by a researcher to

gather data that already exists in some shape or form. For the sake of clarity,
this Unit focuses on secondary sources of data rather than secondary
methods of data collection.

All this means, in effect, is that we will be focusing on the various ways sociologists
can use data that already exists. This is because, logically, all data - sociological or
otherwise - is ultimately produced by a primary method (that is, someone,
somewhere and at some time had to create the data).

• Sociologists use secondary sources for a variety of reasons, as we will discuss in

more detail in a moment, and the sources of such data are many and varied.

• These range from highly quantified sources such as statistics (both official
and unofficial - see below) to the more qualitative such as personal
documents and diaries, government and business reports and the mass
media).

The Mass Media, for example, involves a huge range of potential sources -
newspaper and magazine articles, television news, reports and documentaries,
films, plays, novels and the like

In addition, secondary sources can be both contemporary (that is, they belong to
the present) or, most-usefully, historical.

• It's not particularly difficult to see why sociologists use secondary sources and we
can briefly note a couple of reasons for their use:

• Firstly, on a purely practical level the use of secondary sources may represent a
substantial saving of time, money and effort.

The basic argument here, therefore, is that it may be unnecessary or impractical for a
researcher to create some forms of data using primary methods when such data
already exists

For example, in Britain the government collects a huge amount of statistical data
about national and local trends in things like employment, crime, education and so
forth and distributes it freely in published documents. Thus, a researcher, for the price
of a book or a visit to a public library has immediate access to statistical data on
patterns of crime, for example, that would cost an enormous amount of money time
and effort to collect personally.

• Secondly, on a methodological level the use of secondary sources may be a

necessity if historical and / or comparative research is being carried-out.

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• For example, the following are two examples of research that have used, in the
first instance, historical evidence to support an argument about the nature of
childhood and, in the second, comparative data to support an argument about
the nature of suicide…

Classic Study:
“Centuries of Childhood”: Philip Aries, 1962.

To test his theory that “childhood” was a relatively recent phenomenon, Aries used a
variety of historical accounts and sources to demonstrate that, in the past, “childhood” (as
we understand in modern societies) did not exist. Aries’ research drew upon such diverse
sources as paintings, contemporary documents and the like and secondary source
materials

Classic Study:
“Suicide: A Study in Sociology”: Emile Durkheim, 1897.

Durkheim was interested in the theory that suicide had social, as opposed to psychological
or pathological, causes and to test his ideas he collected statistical data from a range of
different countries. Without the existence of such data Durkheim would not have been
able to carry-out a comparative study of suicide rates and causes. In addition, of course,
given his subject matter, without using secondary sources Durkheim would have been
unable to effectively research suicide since primary data in this area does not exist.

Although there are clear and justifiable reasons for using secondary sources of data,
we also need to be aware of possible drawbacks and limitations.

We need to note, for example, that, as a general rule-of-thumb, whenever we use

any data we need to consider a number of important methodological concepts that
surround the collection and use of such data. For example, whenever we collect
data we should always consider the concepts of:

• Data reliability:

As a general rule, quantitative data tends to be considered as more reliable than

qualitative data.

• Data validity.

In relation to validity, the opposite tends to be true. Quantitative data, for example,
may be too limited, narrow and restricted in its scope to allow us to capture the full
richness and depth of social interaction.

If we study a similar group we cannot be sure that any differences between the two
groups are so great and uncontrollable that we are comparing “like with like”. This is
because qualitative data, by its very nature, is more difficult for sociologists to replicate.
A covert participant observation study, for example, cannot be repeated in exactly the
same way as the research was originally carried out for fairly obvious reasons: the group
being studied will change over time or it may not exist anymore.

A questionnaire or structured interview, for example, may so limit the

responses that can be given by a respondent that they fail to present us with a
true picture of the reality of someone’s life, thoughts and opinions.

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Statistical data, on the other hand, may provide us with a snapshot of some
aspect of human behaviour as it was at the moment the statistics were collected -
but they cannot tell us anything much about why people behave in particular ways

In addition we should also consider what Scott (“Documents in Social Research”:

Social Studies Review, 1990) has identified as crucial concepts in the evaluation
of secondary sources.

1. Authenticity

In simple terms, we need to be certain of the source of the data we use. We need, for
example, to be sure that a document is not a forgery. In addition, we need to know
whether we are working from original documents or from copies of such documents
(which may have been changed, subtracted from or added to by other authors).

2. Credibility

For example, we may want to know who wrote something and why they wrote it (see
purpose). We would need to know whether or not the author had first-hand experience
of the things they describe or whether they were simply repeating something “second or
third hand” ("hearsay" evidence). We would also have to consider the
representativeness of the source in this context.

3. Representativeness

When considering a secondary source we need to know, for example, if it is simply one
individual’s view or whether it is representative of a whole range of views. Newspaper
articles, for example, may simply be the personal, unsupported and unrepresentative,
view of a single journalist. Similarly, historical documents tend to reflect the views of
particular social classes, religions and so forth (mainly because it was the upper
classes and the religious who recorded their views). Finally, perhaps, a single document
which may be the only surviving contemporary record of an event will provide us with an
insight into that event, but without supporting evidence it is unlikely to give us a
representative view of the event.

4a. Meaning (1)

To use secondary sources in sociological research we invariably have to consider their

meaning. This can be done on two main levels

Firstly, we can consider their literal meaning (that is, what they actually say about
something).Secondly, however, secondary sources can have a metaphorical meaning in
the sense that they can be used to illustrate a particular sociological point. In this
sense, data does not always have to be taken at face value (what it actually says).
Historical documents, for example, can be interesting to sociologists more for what they
tell us about the things that concerned people in the past than for their actual content.

4b. Meaning (2)

In addition to the first meaning, we can also use documents comparatively; that is, we can
compare different views (for example, between the past and the present) to illustrate the
sociological point that people tend to view the past nostalgically and they use this

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nostalgia to contrast an idealised view of “the past” with a present that is dangerous
and uncertain. Consider, for example, the following two accounts of family life:

"Family life is collapsing and responsible parents can no longer afford children", the
government was warned yesterday. And lack of parental control and guidance lies behind
many of today's pressing social problems, said Lord Joseph, the former Education Secretary,
Sir Keith Joseph.

"Part of the background to crime, to drug addiction, to low motivation at school, to poor job
prospects and to the transmission of all these problems to the next generation comes from
inadequate parenting. If you want to destroy a country, you debauch its currency - and the
way to destroy a society is to destroy its children.".

[Link] "Save our Children from the Collapse of Family Life": Daily Mail 29/06/90.

"The withdrawal of women's attention from the care of her offspring, and from domestic duties
is an unnatural arrangement and a stigma upon the social state. Young children are left at
home under very inadequate conduct and almost without restraint. They are left to play at will
and to expand into every lawless form. Ignorant of cooking and needlework, unacquainted
with all that is necessary to promote the comfort and welfare of a home... slatternly and
ignorant. The unfortunate man who marries a woman of this class suffers also. There is
neither order nor comfort in the home and his meals are so irregular and ill-prepared and his
own fireside presents so few attractions that he is tempted to the beerhouse. The social evils
are aggravated by the independence of the young of both sexes. The child receives his wages
on his own account and in some cases he will even remove from the parent roof. It is palpably
a system fraught with innumerable evils, especially when we consider the early direction of the
child's mind to the value of money and the consequent temptation to procure it by illicit
means.".

[Link] "An Inquirey into the Extent and Causes of Juvenile Depravity", 1849

5. Purpose

Whenever we use secondary sources, (unless it’s the work of other sociologists), it’s highly
unlikely the data will have been produced with sociologists in mind. In this respect, the
producers of the data will have had their own reasons, concerns, interests and agendas for
producing it and we must be aware that these may not coincide exactly with sociological
concerns, interests and agendas. Official employment statistics, for example, are produced
by governments who may want to show (for political reasons) that there is very
unemployment in our society. The statistics they produce may reflect this concern and they
may not, therefore, give us a valid, sociological, picture of “true levels” of unemployment.

• Although, for the purpose of illustration, I’ve outlined these ideas separately (as
if they were discrete or self-contained), it is clear that, in reality, we will need to
consider how each connects to (and has an effect on) the others when we
evaluate secondary sources of data.

For example, when we consider the authenticity of a data source we will necessarily
have to consider its credibility as a source, how representative it is and the
purpose for which it was originally produced.

• When we carry-out primary research most - if not all - of the above ideas will be
considered as part of the research process. By and large, therefore, we have, as
researchers, control over these things (whether or not we choose to completely
follow them is, of course, another matter).

• When dealing with secondary sources, however, it is not always so easy to

ensure that the data we use is reliable or valid, authentic or representative.
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For this reason, we have to be especially cautious about the use of secondary
data in our research.

Having noted these important methodological concepts we can now start to

examine secondary sources of data in more detail. As with the previous Units, we
can most easily and conveniently organise such methods in terms of quantitative
and qualitative categories.

Thus, we can begin by looking generally at secondary quantitative sources of data

and specifically by looking at statistical data. In this respect, although there are
many potential sources of statistical data that can be used by sociological
researchers (for example, governments, social scientists, journalists, media
organisations, businesses and the like all, at various times, produce statistical
data that can be used, in different ways, as sources of secondary statistical data),
we can, for the sake of convenience and illustration, generally consider the most
important sources of statistical data for the sociological researcher to be those
produced by “official sources”.

By official, in this context, we mean statistical data produced by governments. For this
reason, we frequently see such secondary data referred to as “Official Statistics”. You
should note, however, that the points being made in this section relating to official
statistics can, with a little care and thought, be applied to any statistical data

In Britain, for example, the two main sources of official statistical data we have is
that produced by:

• Government departments (such as the Home Office and the Department for
Education)

• Government agencies (such as the police),

By and large, this demographic data (for example, data about such things as where
and how different individuals and groups live in a society) is collected by the
government to be used as the basis for the creation of
government policies.

By understanding something about the way people live the government is able to
adjust both its policies and its levels of expenditure to take account of changes in
society.

For example, whether the population is generally increasing - and by how much - whether
there are an increasing number of elderly people in the population and so forth.

This statistical data is published annually by the government in “Social Trends” (HMSO).
Data about areas such as crime, work and leisure, family life, education, politics,
religion and so forth is routinely published in Social Trends, which makes it an invaluably
source of secondary data for sociologists.

In addition, “The Annual Abstract of Statistics” contains a wealth of statistical data

compiled and presented on an historical basis (for example, it may allow us to compare
crime statistics over a thirty year period), while “Regional Trends”, as the name suggests,
provides statistical data on a regional basis.

As with any method of data collection used by sociologists, care must be taken over
the use and interpretation of statistics, whether they be from "official" sources
(such as Government departments) or "unofficial" sources (such as the work of
social scientists, journalists, business organisations and so forth).
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Having noted this, we can start this section by looking at why sociologists use official
statistics.

Bilton et al ("Introductory Sociology") suggests five main reasons for the use of
official statistics as a source of data for sociologists:

a. Availability.

It may be the case that official statistics are the only available source in a particular
sociological area of interest. Emil Durkheim, for example, in his classic study of suicide
("Suicide: A Study In Sociology", 1897) used official statistics drawn from coroners'
reports from a number of different societies in the attempt to establish that suicide rates
varied within and between societies. By so doing, he was able to argue that social factors,
such as religious belief, were significant variables in the explanation of why people
committed suicide.

b. Readily available.

The researcher does not have to spend time and money collecting his / her own
information.

This may be an important practical research consideration.

c. Examination of trends / changes over time.

Using statistical data drawn from a number of different years it is possible to see how
something has changed over a long period. For example, statistics of educational
achievement can show us changes in relative levels of academic achievement between
boys and girls.

Again, this may be an important practical research consideration if the sociologist is

concerned with attempting to analyse variations in behaviour over a long period of time.

d. Comparisons.

Statistics can be used for Inter-group comparisons (for example, the examination of
differences in middle-class and working-class family size), as well as cross-cultural
comparisons (for example, a comparative study of crime rates in different countries).

This kind of information may well be too expensive and time-consuming for the sociologist
to collect personally, for example.

e. “Before" and "after" studies.

For example, we could use statistical data to examine the effect that changes in the law
have on patterns of divorce by noting the number of divorces before the legal change and
doing the same for divorces after the change.

• As the above suggests, there are a number of very good reasons why
sociologists should use official statistics and these mainly relate to various
aspects of practical research considerations when choosing a method of data
collection to use. However, the uncritical use of official statistics may involve a
number of problems, not the least of these being that official statistics are
invariably collected by non-sociologists (the significance of this being that they
are collected for a specific purpose - to provide governments with information -
not for the convenience of sociologists who may well use different categories to
those used by statisticians).

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In this respect, as with any source of data, we have to be aware, that Official
Statistics are both a valuable source of information (if used critically) and a
potential source of biased data (if used uncritically).

What we need to do next, therefore, is to look at a number of potential limitations

(both practical and methodological) involved in the collection and use of official
statistics. These fall into four main categories:

1. Definitions.

In relation to the way in which official statistical categories are defined, we have to be
careful in two main respects:

a. The definitions used by the collector of official statistics may not be the same as
those used by the sociologist.

For example, we need to ensure that the official definition of such concepts as
"crime", "unemployment" and "class" is the same as our own.

b. The basis for the collection of statistics by governments may change over time.

This is significant if your research is concerned with, for example, comparisons of

employment / unemployment levels between the present and the past. Between 1980
and 1990, for example, the British government changed the way it defined
unemployment (and hence the way it which it collects official data
about the unemployed) approximately 25 times...

2. The Purpose of Official Statistics

Although official statistics are collected by governments in order to provide

information about what's happening in society, it would be naive to pretend that
the collection of such data is unaffected by political and economic
considerations.

As in the example above, the British government has changed the way in which it
defines unemployment a large number of times over the past few years. It may be a
happy coincidence that all but one of these changes (the first) has resulted in a fall in
the number of people defined as being "unemployed", but, there again, it might not...

However, I'm not suggesting that the data provided by Official Statistics on
unemployment is collected in a statistically-faulty way. That is, there is no
suggestion that the data is inaccurately collected, as such (that is, that the
statisticians who are charged with collecting such data deliberately set-out to
mislead). Rather, it is to suggest that the way in which one defines a "problem" will
affect the way in which one collects data about it - this is a (sociological) problem
of methodology.

Thus, whilst we may have a valid picture of such things as levels of car theft and
murder, the picture that we gain from the statistics about such things as levels of
vandalism, burglary and so forth may not be valid...

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3. A partial picture of reality?

When using statistics of any kind, we need to be aware of two points:

a. Firstly, that any statistical account will represent a "snapshot" of social

interaction as it was at the moment the statistics were compiled. Just as a
photograph captures a single frame of social activity, so too do statistics capture a
fragment of any interaction process. This may be significant if we are using
statistical data to track developments in a social process.

b. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the statistical data we use may only
represent a partial picture of reality. An example may help to clarify this point:

Data collected by the police, for example, is only likely to represent a proportion of the
true level of criminal activity / behaviour in our society, because although the police
have a duty to record crimes that are notified to them (hence, as an aside, we can be
reasonably certain that the statistics are relatively reliable), not all crimes (for
whatever reason) are notified to the police (which casts some doubt upon the validity
of official crime statistics).

4. Interpretation

In order to understand any form of statistical analysis, it is evident that we have to

interpret their significance - that is, we have to understand the ways in which they
are meaningful to both ourselves and others. We can illustrate this idea by looking
at the notion of "clear-up" rates within official statistics about crime.

Thus, if we look more closely at crime statistics in order to analyse such things as
police "clear-up" rates (that is, the number of reported crimes solved by the
police), we have to be careful about the way in which we interpret the data
because the official definition of a "solved crime" may not accord with our
definition about what constitutes a solved crime...

Officially, therefore, the police definition of a solved crime is one in which an arrest
is made. If the arrested person is subsequently found to be innocent, this makes
no difference to police clear-up rates (and leads to the statistical anomaly that it is
quite possible for the same crime to appear more than once in the clear-up
statistics).

In addition, a further problem of interpretation is involved when we consider that

such statistics are not always either reliable or valid in terms of the police actually
catching criminals.

For example, it is not unusual for the police to "plea bargain" with arrested
individuals. When, for example, you read in court reports that,

"Mr. X pleaded guilty to burglary and asked the court to take into account 55 other
similar offences...",

it may be indicative of the fact that Mr. X admitted to these "similar crimes" in
return for the police charging him with a lesser offence (one that carries a lighter
sentence, for example). Mr. X may not actually have committed all these crimes,
but the police may work along the lines that they've managed to catch someone
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who is an admitted burglar and he probably committed a number of crimes for

which he wasn't caught, so in return for the possibility of a lighter sentence Mr. X
could be induced to admit to these "unsolved" crimes...

Whatever we may think about the morality of such practices, we have to be aware
that they exist and may have an affect upon the way in which official statistics
relating to crime are compiled.

• In relation to secondary sources of qualitative data it is evident that these are

many and varied, since almost all information that people produce in their
everyday lives could be included in this category of data collection. However, in
relation to sociological research, we can limit this category to a number of major
sources that we can briefly note as follows:

1. Historical Documents.

Sociologists, as you will appreciate as the course develops, are frequently concerned
with the analysis of historical events. This is mainly because we tend to see social
development as a long, slow, continuous, process. Much of what we experience in
our society today, for example, has its origins in the desires, hopes, fears and
struggles of our ancestors...

Historical analysis is useful not only for our understanding of how societies develop,
however; it is also important as a source of comparison (and comparative data, is an
important aspect of most sociological research). Using historical documents, for
example, we can understand how people lived in the past - both in our own and other
societies (allowing us to make comparisons over both time and space). We can use
such research data to understand how society has changed, how it has not changed
and, perhaps, how it might change in the future (although this is a rather contentious
idea...).

In addition, we rely upon historical documents as a (secondary) source of information

simply because it is not possible for us to collect primary data about the past.
Having said this, it should be evident that historical documents (like any potential
source of data) are liable to be incomplete, inaccurate or simply partial (written to
reflect one particular point of view, for example). This is as true of "official" (usually
governmental) historical documents as it is of "unofficial" (personal) documents.

This type of documentary evidence is normally of the qualitative type (reports and
accounts of people's behaviour and so forth) although, of course, some historical
documents may attempt to quantify certain forms of behaviour (the Domesday Book
produced for William the Conqueror, for example, represents an attempt to quantify
ownership of land in Feudal Britain after 1066).

2. Personal Documents.

While a great deal of historical documentation consists of government reports,

enquiries, commissions, surveys, "official statistics" (births, deaths, marriages,
divorces, etc.) and parish and Church records, a further source of qualitative data is
to be found in such things as personal letters, diaries and books.

We could also note, in this context that personal documents might include such
things as oral histories, novels, films and the like.
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Again, personal documents are likely to be both one-sided and incomplete (and all
tend to relate more to the personal lives and experiences of individuals), but they
nevertheless frequently represent a significant - and at times only - source of data for
sociologists interested in historical analysis and comparative research.

3. The Mass Media.

Like historical and personal documents, the mass media are a readily available
source of secondary data - much of it highly opinionated and deeply subjective...

Analysis of the media (in all it's different forms) often tells us more about the thinking
and prejudices of various powerful individuals and groups, of course, but it
nevertheless represents a significant source of qualitative data.

On a more personal level, the mass media will be very useful to your A-level studies
as a source of contemporary data, since it frequently carries reports, analysis and
comment on relatively up-to-date social research.

Having outlined some aspects of secondary source material in this set of

Notes, further Notes look in more detail at specific types of secondary material
(such as official statistics). There are also a number of separate sets of Notes
covering areas such as experiments and participant observation.

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