Statistics as a secondary source + Sampling

Two types of secondary research statistics

1. Official Statistics- quantitative data produced by national and local government. These include:

a. State surveys and govt departments statistics. A govt body collects information from organisations such as schools and these become statistics. Sometimes called soft statistics.

2. Non-official statistics- quantitative data collected by non-government organisations such as charities, pressure groups, businesses and churches.

Why does the govt collect stats?

To plan for the future, allocate resources and get a picture of social problems (e.g crime rate).

Official statistics- high representativeness

Official statistics often cover entire school populations, not just samples. This increases generalisability and allows comparisons across groups. Dept of Education data can include all pupils’ GCSE results, attendance, exclusions, and achievement by gender, class, and ethnicity across England. This makes it possible to identify national patterns in educational inequality rather than just individual school experiences.

Official statistics- high reliability

High reliability due to standardised collection. Statistics are collected using fixed definitions and procedures. This makes trends easier to compare over time. Exclusion rates or attendance figures are recorded in the same way across schools, allowing year-on-year comparisons. This helps sociologists identify long-term patterns, such as changes in attainment gaps.

Socially constructed data- OS

Statistics are shaped by how schools and government define categories. Data may not reflect real educational experiences. Categories like “FSM (Free School Meals)” are used as a proxy for class, but may not fully capture poverty or disadvantage. This means official statistics may hide variation within groups of pupils.

Practical advantage of OS

Cheap and accessible. Official statistics already exist and are publicly available. Researchers do not need to collect primary data. Sociologists can quickly access DfE data on attainment gaps or school performance online. Without his, large scale educational research would not occur.

What does a target population mean?

People who have the characteristics the researcher is investigating. E.g married women, A level students, males over 40.

What does a sample mean?

A sample is a section of the target population on which the research is conducted.

What is a representative sample?

A sample is representative if:

• The people in it have the same characteristics as those in the target population.

• It contains enough people so that we can get a picture of the typical person in this group- therefore a large number of people are needed.

• The participants have been selected in an objective way, using a random sampling technique.

If a sample is representative then the results can be generalised.