Strenghs and Limitations of Officail Statistics

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Using material from Item B and elsewhere assess the strengths and limitations of the Official Statistics for investigating the effect of material deprivation on educational achievement. Material deprivation is a complex issue when associated to educational achievement. Although it is widely accepted that greater material deprivation is collectively linked to poorer educational achievement, the finer points and relationships within the subject are highly debatable. Additional problems are presented when investigating the issue; although official statistics have many benefits, there are also draw backs with secondary sources which are normally associated with validity, reliability, accuracy and representativeness. Official statistics, in sociological research, are secondary sources originally produced and published by official sources such as the government, and they provide large-scale statistical data. Low income is directly linked with underachievement. A poor home environment is destructive to educational success: a lack of resources to cover hidden costs, a lack of educational equipment/extra-curricular activities and a poor diet all contribute to a lower academic performance compared to somebody who has access to all of the above. However, these areas are personal, complex issues. 'Soft' statistics are unclear and many claim that they are social constructs reflecting the ideologies of those conducting the research, rather than valid studies of poverty and its complex, interrelated issues. On the other hand, official statistics can be useful in providing relevant statistics in areas such as household income. They cover large populations and are therefore representative, which is useful when conducting a large, quantitative study. This information can be linked to educational achievement by studying income alongside pass rates in schools in poor/wealthy
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