Ethics and Official Statistics

This article discusses the ethics of official statistics and the use of mixed research methods in data collection, analysis, and interpretation. It covers the UN fundamental principle 5, recommendations on data sources, and the advantages of mixed methods over single methods. The article also provides an example of implementing mixed methods in a case study.

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Ethics and Official Statistics
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Ethics and Official Statistics
The UN fundamental principle 5
The principle states that the data for statistical purposes might be drawn from all various
sources, which could be either the administrative records or the statistical surveys that take into
consideration four aspects, which are quality, timeless, the burden to the respondents and cost-
effectiveness (Klinke, Renn, and Lehners, 2018).
Recommendations on the selected sources
The data sources should be of high quality meaning they should be reliable as much as
possible so that they can facilitate replication of researches. Moreover, the sources should be
timeless so that they can be used as future references as well as cost-effective for acquisition/
collection of data, analysis, and interpretation. The sources should also have minimal or no
burden to the respondents to encourage high participation and responses for the purported study.
Mixed research methods
Mixed research methods is an approach that incorporates the use of both qualitative and
quantitative techniques in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data (Bell, Bryman, and
Harley 2018). The use of both the qualitative and the quantities methods enables the research to
obtain all the relevant information whereby the limitations of one process are catered for and
vice versa. For instance, most questionnaires could utilize a qualitative approach in incidences
where the qualitative approach does not apply whereas the research can deploy quantitative
means for collecting the numerical data.
Implementation of the mixed methods in Hochschild case study
Based on the nature of the data to be collected, the mixed method approach would be
useful in gathering the data from the respondents. Concisely, interviewing the respondent’s calls

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for qualitative questions, which helps in the collection of non-numerical data from the mentioned
participants. On the other hand, the quantitative approach would be used in measuring the
numerical data such as time taken to complete the questionnaires as well as other relevant
domestic tasks to the study. Furthermore, the research could use qualitative information in giving
judgment or insightful meaning to the quantitative data. Through such an integration of the two
methods, decisive inferences can be drawn for the study whereby the relationships in the
numerical data are interpreted using the qualitative judgment thus giving the study an upper
sense of accuracy and validity (Lucero et al., 2018).
Is a mixed method necessarily superior to the single method?
Yes. Mixed method incurs advantages compared to the single method due to the ability to
utilize both the qualitative and quantitative statistics. For instance, limiting research to a single
method, in essence, qualitative approach, the study would not be in a position to make insights to
the quantitative data that they could come across (Thomas, Nelson, and Silverman, 2018).
Concisely, using a single method such as quantities put the research in a difficult position when
the research entail some qualitative data. Therefore, using mixed methods is more superior to
using a single method due to its ability to incorporate all the types of data in the study. Take an
example of a graph generated from quantitative data; the research would require using qualitative
information for interpreting the data. Such could be difficult when relying on a single method
approach.

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References
Bell, E., Bryman, A., & Harley, B. (2018). Business research methods. New York: Oxford
university press.
Klinke, A., Renn, O., & Lehners, J. P. (2018). Ethnic conflicts and civil society: proposals for a
new era in Eastern Europe. London: Routledge.
Lucero, J., Wallerstein, N., Duran, B., Alegria, M., Greene-Moton, E., Israel, B. & Schulz, A.
(2018). Development of a mixed methods investigation of process and outcomes of
community-based participatory research. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 12(1), 55-
74.
Thomas, J. R., Nelson, J. K., & Silverman, S. J. (2018). Research methods in physical activity.
Human kinetics.