official statistics

Question 1

what are official statistics?

Answer 1

quantitative data collected by the government (e.g. crime rates, education results, census data)

Question 2

give 3 examples of official statistics

Answer 2

census
crime statistics
birth/death rates

Question 3

what is the census?

Answer 3

a survey of the entire population conducted every 10 years in the uk

Question 4

what the different types of official statistics?

Answer 4

Demographic statistics
Social statistics

Question 5

What are demographic statistics?

Answer 5

Data on the population (births, deaths, migration, marriage)

Question 6

What are social statistics?

Answer 6

Data on social issues (education, crime, health, employment)

Question 7

Why are official statistics high in reliability (repeatability)?

Answer 7

Standardised methods - consistent, repeatable data

Question 8

Why are the representative?

Answer 8

Often cover the whole population (e.g. census)

Question 9

Why are the useful for trends?

Answer 9

Collected regularly - easy to track changes overtime

Question 10

Why are they practical for sociologists?

Answer 10

Cheap and easy to access (secondary data)

Question 11

Why might official statistics lack validity?

Answer 11

They may not reflect the true picture (e.g. not all crime is reported)

Question 12

What is the “dark figure” of crime?

Answer 12

Crime that is not reported.

Question 13

Why might governments manipulate statistics?

Answer 13

To present themselves positively or to support policies.

Question 14

Who prefers official statistics?

Answer 14

Positivists.

Question 15

Why do Marxists criticise official statistics?

Answer 15

Produced by the state - reflect ruling class interests.