SSCI 2900U Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Data Set, Official Statistics, Subgroup Analysis
1 Sep 2016
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Lecture 6, other sources of quantitative data, ssci 2900u research methods, A document is any data source that can be read", e. g. , letters, diaries, autobiographies, websites, photographs, etc. If not produced for the purposes of social research they are unobtrusive measures. Research participants are unaware of being studied and therefore act naturally. Used as prompts to get people to talk. Scott (1990) maintains that family photographs are of three types: Taken as records of ceremonial occasions such as weddings and graduations or reoccurring events like reunions and holidays. An informal snapshot capturing action as it happens, though there may be some contrived component. Depicting the subject in an atypical, often embarrassing, situation. A problem for the analyst of photographs is judging representativeness. The photographs available may not be typical of the event or episode depicted. What is not photographed may be very significant. Government documents can be a rich source of information for social researchers.
