AQA GCSE · Question 05 · Sociological Research Methods
From Item A, examine one strength of using statistics to research one-person households.
How to approach this question
Look at Item A and think about the general strengths of using quantitative data like official statistics. Identify one strength (e.g., large scale, reliability, shows trends) and then link it specifically to the data shown in the chart about one-person households.
Full Answer
One strength of using statistics like those in Item A is that they allow for the easy identification of trends over time. The bar chart clearly shows a general increase in the number of one-person households in the UK between 1996 and 2018, making it simple to see long-term social changes.
Official statistics, like those from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shown in Item A, are a key source of quantitative data for sociologists. Their strengths include being collected on a large scale, which makes them representative. They are also collected regularly, allowing for the analysis of trends over time, as seen in the chart. This makes them useful for tracking large-scale social changes like the rise of one-person households. They are also generally seen as reliable as they are collected in a standardised way.
Common mistakes
A common mistake is to state a strength of statistics in general (e.g., 'they are reliable') without applying it to the specific data in Item A. A good answer must refer to the chart.
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