• categorising material • difficulty of comparing responses • irrelevant content • interpretation of meanings • unrepresentativeness • confidentiality • informed consent. 8 marks * Suggest two problems of using official statistics in sociological research. official statistics on some topics are not collected official statistics on some topics are not published definitions used by the state may differ from sociological definitions changing definitions makes comparison over time difficult different definitions used in different countries makes international comparisons difficult they lack validity they are merely social constructs/are not social facts or „real rates‟ officials may make errors in collecting or recording the data may be out of date may be politically biased/manipulated. * Suggest two factors that may influence a sociologist’s choice of research topic. the sociologist’s theoretical perspective (eg feminist, New Right) funding bodies accessibility of the research context or group the sociologist’s career interests/opportunities sociologist’s personal interests societal values or public concerns availability of
• categorising material • difficulty of comparing responses • irrelevant content • interpretation of meanings • unrepresentativeness • confidentiality • informed consent. 8 marks * Suggest two problems of using official statistics in sociological research. official statistics on some topics are not collected official statistics on some topics are not published definitions used by the state may differ from sociological definitions changing definitions makes comparison over time difficult different definitions used in different countries makes international comparisons difficult they lack validity they are merely social constructs/are not social facts or „real rates‟ officials may make errors in collecting or recording the data may be out of date may be politically biased/manipulated. * Suggest two factors that may influence a sociologist’s choice of research topic. the sociologist’s theoretical perspective (eg feminist, New Right) funding bodies accessibility of the research context or group the sociologist’s career interests/opportunities sociologist’s personal interests societal values or public concerns availability of