Question 1: What is a secondary source in sociology? Give one example.

Answer: A secondary source is information that has been collected and written by someone else, not by the person doing the research. An example is a newspaper article about crime rates.

Question 2: Why do sociologists use secondary sources instead of collecting their own data all the time?

Answer: Sociologists use secondary sources because they are quicker and cheaper to access, and they can provide information about large groups or long periods of time that would be difficult to study directly.

Question 3: Name two advantages of using secondary sources in sociological research.

Answer: Advantages include saving time and money, and access to data that covers a long time period or large population which might be difficult to gather firsthand.

Question 4: Identify one disadvantage of relying on secondary sources for sociological research.

Answer: A disadvantage is that the data may be outdated or not exactly suited to the specific question being studied.

Question 5: Imagine a sociologist wants to study how attitudes towards recycling have changed over the last ten years. Which type of secondary source might they use?

Answer: They might use government reports or survey data collected over the past ten years.

Question 6: Describe how a sociologist could evaluate whether a secondary source is reliable.

Answer: They could check who created the source, whether it is recent, whether it is published by a trustworthy organization, and if it has been reviewed or cited by other researchers.

Question 7: List two types of secondary sources that sociologists might use in their research.

Answer: Books and government reports.

Question 8: Draw a simple diagram showing a sociologist using a secondary source such as a book or report to gather information. Label the source and the sociologist.

Answer: The diagram should show a person labeled 'Sociologist' reading or looking at a book or report labeled 'Secondary Source'.

Question 9: Explain why it is important for sociologists to cross-check information from different secondary sources.

Answer: Cross-checking helps ensure the information is accurate and reliable, and it reduces the chance of relying on biased or incorrect data.

Question 10: Suppose a report claims that more teenagers are using social media now than ten years ago. What type of secondary source is this, and how might a sociologist use it?

Answer: This is a government or research report. A sociologist might use it to analyze trends in social media usage among teenagers over time.