Types of data - primary, secondary, quantitative and qualitative

Primary data - collected by who and for what purpose

• By: the sociologist themself

• For: the specific purpose of their research

Secondary data - collected by who and for what purpose

• By: another sociologist or other person

• For: a purpose different to that of the researcher who is using it

4 examples of primary data

1. Questionnaires

2. Interviews

3. Observations

4. Experiments

4 examples of secondary data

1. Official stats

2. Letters/diaries/photographs

3. Newspapers

4. TV broadcasts

Advantage of primary data 

• Able to obtain data directly related to the research the sociologist is carrying out

2 disadvantages of primary data

1. Costly

2. Time-consuming

2 advantages of secondary data

1. Quick

2. Cheap

Disadvantage of secondary data

• May not be the exact information needed by the sociologist for their research

Quantitative data + examples

• Numerical - can be quantified

  • Official statistics

  • Opinion polls

  • Surveys, questionnaires

Qualitative data + examples

• Words - descriptive, detailed

  • Informal interviews about feelings or opinions - open questions, not closed questions

  • Descriptive information about behaviour gathered from observation