Examine the reasons why some sociologists choose to use official statistics when conducting research. Firstly‚ official statistics are a source of secondary quantitative data which are gathered by the government or other official bodies. Many reasons for their use by sociologists when conducting research stems from the fact that they are a form of secondary data; meaning that they are not collected by the sociologist themselves. This makes them high in practicality‚ representativeness and reliability
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Official statistics are published by the Home Office regarding the number of different types of crimes committed and the backgrounds of those responsible. Official statistics are published annually and are used to compare the difference in crime year by year‚ from this government policies are revised and adjusted where they see fit. Some sociologists see the statistics as an invaluable source of information whereas others question their accuracy. Positivists and Functionalists have taken official
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For what reasons do official crime statistics fail to provide an accurate portrayal of the level of crime in society? Crime is ‘an action or omission which constitutes an offence which is punishable by law’ (Oxford Dictionary). Criminal behaviour is an issue in society today. Crime statistics providing evidence is vastly important because the government or police forces can look at the level of crime‚ identify if is increasing or decreasing; remedy the situation using prevention tactics. Consequently
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Introducing Criminology. Academic Session 2011 - 2012 ASSIGNMENT STATEMENT. . “Crime statistics do not accurately reflect the nature and extent of crime in our society.” STUDENT NAME: Richard Irwin STUDENT NUMBER: XXXXXX TUTOR: XXXXXX WORD COUNT: XXXX Excluding Bibliography‚ Appendices and Footnotes) CONTENTS ASSIGNMENT BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDICIES Crime statistics do not accurately reflect the nature and extent of crime in our society. In order to answer
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Important Publication of Official Statistics A few important publications containing official statistics for general use are given below: Statistical abstract of India: This annual publication is brought out by the CSO and contains the statistics of various sectors of the Indian economy at least for the last five years. This also gives state-wise statistics at least for the last year. India- Pocketbook economic information: This publication is brought out annually by the Ministry of Finance
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Official crime statistics refer to statistical data which are compiled by official agencies such as the police and courts‚ and are published by the state. National statistics about crime in England and Wales have been collected and published by the Home Office annually since 1857. These figures are compiled by putting together the offences recorded by the police in each of the forty-three police areas in England and Wales. The statistics contained in these volumes are of great significance‚ not only
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Outline and assess the view that the official crime statistics tell us more about the people involved in their collection than they tell us about crime and criminals [60 marks] Positivists believe that the official crime statistics (OSC) tell us about the crime & criminality and are very valuable. However‚ Intrepretivists would disagree and would criticise the OCS as they are socially constructed. They argue that the OCS lack reliability and therefore validity because it tells us more about the
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and Disadvantages of Official Statistics Official statistics are quantitative data produced by local and national government bodies‚ and can cover a wide range of behaviour including births‚ deaths‚ marriages and divorce‚ income‚ crime‚ and work and leisure. Official statistics can be produced as a by-product of the normal workings of a government department‚ but they can also result from research designed specifically to produce them. Two main sources of official statistics are the government
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Sociology: Outline and assess the usefulness of official statistics in measuring crime. Crime is basically any sort of behaviour or an act which breaks laws of a society and is punished by the legal system. What is considered criminal or deviant is culturally determined. This means that what is considered criminal or deviant changes with time and place‚ as the values‚ norms and expectations change. What may not be acceptable in one society at a particular time may be acceptable in another country
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Outline and assess the usefulness of official statistics of crime to sociologists. There are three main sources of information about the crimes for sociologists – the official crime statistics‚ which are collected by the police and are presented as secondary data for sociologists; victim survey such as British Crime Survey‚ which is also collected by the police and sponsored by the government‚ and in order to collect primary data sociologists use self-report studies and its aim is to uncover the
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