Lesson 4.3.2.2

4.3.2.2 Sources of data and primary and secondary data Quiz: AQA Sociology, Unit 3

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 4.3.2.2, Sources of data and primary and secondary data: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Sociology (7192), Unit 3: Crime and Deviance with Theory and Methods, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What defines primary data in sociological research?

    • Exclusively numerical data
    • Sourced from archives
    • Collected by researcher
    • Collected by others

  2. Which of the following is an example of secondary data?

    • Completed observation schedule
    • Researcher field notes
    • Official census statistics
    • In-depth interview transcript

  3. What is a key advantage of using official statistics in research?

    • Large sample size
    • Guaranteed accuracy
    • High subjective depth
    • Total researcher control

  4. What is a major limitation of official statistics for sociologists?

    • Lack of reliability
    • Pre-set state categories
    • High collection costs
    • Small sample sizes

  5. Which method uses fixed questions to gather standardized, comparable data?

    • Structured questionnaire
    • Unstructured interview
    • Participant observation
    • Personal diary

  6. Which concept describes the high level of truthfulness provided by participant observation?

    • High representativeness
    • High reliability
    • High validity
    • Theoretical neutrality

  7. What term describes participants changing their behaviour because they know they are being observed?

    • Hawthorne effect
    • Improper sampling
    • Informed consent
    • Interviewer bias

  8. Which type of secondary data includes personal diaries, letters, and official reports?

    • Documents
    • Observation notes
    • Official statistics
    • Questionnaires

  9. Which method involves analysing media articles, policy papers, and official reports to find thematic patterns?

    • Participant observation
    • Field experiment
    • Structured interview
    • Content analysis

  10. What is the main methodological strength of using experiments in sociological research?

    • Testing causal relationships
    • High external validity
    • Total absence of bias
    • Natural social settings

  11. What term describes official government records routinely generated by state agencies?

    • Experimental data
    • Ethnographic data
    • Administrative data
    • Survey data

  12. Which research method is best for gathering representative quantitative data from a large population?

    • Participant observation
    • Structured survey
    • Personal diary analysis
    • Unstructured interview

  13. What term describes re-analysing existing survey datasets previously collected by other researchers?

    • Triangulation
    • Primary research
    • Methodological pluralism
    • Secondary analysis

  14. Why might administrative data like hospital records lack validity for sociological research?

    • Lack of reliability
    • Small sample sizes
    • High financial cost
    • Inflexible categories

  15. Which data source provides qualitative data in sociological research?

    • Crime statistics
    • Survey frequency tables
    • Census reports
    • Interview transcripts

  16. What main ethical issue arises when reusing personal data from pre-existing records?

    • Lack of consent
    • Hawthorne effect
    • Low response rate
    • Interviewer bias

  17. What sociological term describes using multiple methods or data sources to cross-check research findings?

    • Operationalisation
    • Pilot studying
    • Triangulation
    • Verstehen

  18. Which data source is unaffected by researcher presence during data collection?

    • Overt field experiments
    • Semi-structured interviews
    • Participant observation
    • Official statistics

  19. Which response error occurs when participants give answers to present themselves favourably in questionnaires?

    • Going native
    • Interviewer bias
    • Social desirability bias
    • Hawthorne effect

  20. Which research method provides detailed qualitative accounts of an individual's life over time?

    • Content analysis
    • Structured surveys
    • Official statistics
    • Life histories

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