Using Official Statistics

About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about the use of official statistics in social research, focusing in particular on: (i) their importance as often the only source of country-wide data about populations; (ii) the more critical view that official statistics do not provide objective knowledge about society, but rather show how governments construct facts; (iii) crime data as an example of this, as we see that the statistics are not objective reflections of reality, but are distorted by the processes of reporting by the public, police recording, and prosecution; (iv) victim self-reporting studies as an important corrective to official crime statistics.

About the lecturer

Professor Tim May is Honorary Distinguished Professor at Cardiff University. He has a wide range of expertise relating to research methodologies, sociological theory, and the philosophy of social science. His recent publications include Social Research: Issues, Methods and Process (2021, co-authored with Beth Perry), Thinking Sociologically (2019, co-authored with Zygmunt Bauman), Reflexivity: The Essential Guide (2017, co-authored with Beth Perry).