Paper 2: Researching and understanding social inequalities

Define the concept of 'validity' in sociological research and illustrate your answer with two examples.

Source A (source written for this paper):

Household income quintile	% of 18-year-olds entering university
Lowest 20%	22
Middle 20%	36
Highest 20%	54

Summarise the patterns shown in Source A and suggest one explanation.

Source B (source written for this paper): 'A researcher used semi-structured interviews with 20 first-generation university students about their experiences of belonging. She found many felt like outsiders but developed strategies to fit in.' With reference to Source B, evaluate the usefulness of semi-structured interviews for researching educational inequality.

Outline and explain two ways in which social class affects life chances in the UK today.

Explain the patterns and trends of ethnic inequality in employment.

Evaluate the view that gender inequality in the workplace is mainly the result of patriarchy.