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In sociology, the term aggregate is used frequently, and depending on the context, it can have two radically different meanings. On the one hand, it can be used to refer to a social aggregate, which is a system made up of people and is frequently studied by sociology. On the other hand, an aggregate can also refer to a set of aggregated data, which is actually a statistical concept and is frequently used both in the social sciences and in any other field of research that works with large amounts of data. data.
Since it is a confusion that arises with some frequency, below we present both definitions along with examples that allow them to be easily distinguished.
social aggregate
A social aggregate is nothing more than a group of people who are in the same place and at the same time who do not necessarily share any connection and may or may not interact with each other . The key to the concept of the social aggregate is that people do not find themselves in the same place for some shared reason, but rather that they converge in the same place by pure chance.
Social aggregate versus social group versus social category
A way to further clarify what an aggregate is can be accomplished by showing what a social aggregate is not. There are two other concepts in sociology that are also associated with sets or collections of people: social groups and social categories . These two concepts are often confused with that of the social aggregate.
Social groups are groups of people who are connected to each other in different ways . It is a group of people who interact frequently and who have things in common, such as a group of students from the same section at school or members of the Real Madrid Football Club.
On the other hand, social categories are sets of people who share social characteristics with each other, but who do not necessarily interact frequently or even know each other . For example, people of the female gender make up a social category, as well as public transport workers, people from the same social stratum, etc.
Now, when we understand that social aggregates are sets of people that are neither social groups nor do they make up social categories, we can understand that they are sets of people whose only apparent relationship is proximity. That is, what makes them an aggregate is the fact that they are close to each other and nothing else.
Examples of social aggregates
They make up social aggregates:
- The people who are at a certain moment in the same subway car.
- The diners of a restaurant at any time of the day.
- The audience at a concert of a famous pop music artist.
- Shoppers in line at a supermarket.
data aggregation
The second concept of an aggregate used in sociology refers to a set of aggregate data. As the name implies, rather than a set of people, it is a data set that is represented in a summary way to facilitate statistical analysis . In essence, aggregated data allows us to observe in a general way the behavior of a set of individual data.
The process of summarizing data is called data aggregation , and the number or numbers resulting from the aggregation process are called aggregates . One could say, then, that the aggregates are numbers or data that represent information about a group of individuals, instead of representing information about a particular individual.
In the field of sociology, data aggregation can be carried out based on different variables of interest. That is, data can be aggregated according to social categories, some of which are:
- Age ranges.
- Gender.
- Social class.
- Place of residence.
- Place of origin.
Data related to certain social groups or even social aggregates can also be added. In most cases, the data being aggregated is numerical or quantitative data, although in other cases it may not be.
Examples of aggregates
Some examples of data aggregates are:
- Statistical measures of central tendency such as arithmetic and geometric means, modes, and medians.
- Statistical measures of data dispersion such as variance and standard deviation.
- The summation of data, such as the total income of the upper class population in a certain country.
- The count of the appearance of a certain physical or psychological trait in a certain population, such as the total number of redheads in the countries of the European Union.
Summary of the differences between aggregate data and social aggregates
| Criterion | social aggregate | aggregated data |
| Definition: | Group of people not necessarily related to each other that is at the same time in the same place. | Individual data set summarized in one. |
| Apply to: | Set of people. | Data set. |
| Scope: | Mainly in sociology. | In any research field where large amounts of individual data are generated. |
| additional examples | The people who are at any given time in a public square. The set of people who are in the same clothing store. The people who are dancing in the same club. A group of people on the same beach. |
The average age of children attending the 5th grade in a school. The average height of the basketball players of the Spanish team. The number of views with likes that make a YouTube video go viral. The value of the basket or basic basket in an African country. |
References
Bell, K. (2020, June 24). aggregate . Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/aggregate/
Lehan, T. (2016, November 27). What Are Aggregates in Research? –Definitions & Types . Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-are-aggregates-in-research-definition-types.html
Lozano Salazar, E. (2018, April 2). individual data vs. Aggregated data . Retrieved from http://vocacionxestadistica.blogspot.com/2018/04/datos-individuales-vs-datos-agregados.html
Rodrigo, R. (2020, November 16). ▷ What are aggregates in research? – Definition and types . Retrieved from https://estudyando.com/que-son-los-agregados-en-la-investigacion-definicion-y-tipos/
sparknotes. (nd). Social Groups and Organizations Groups, Aggregates, and Categories Summary & Analysis . Retrieved from https://www.sparknotes.com/sociology/social-groups-and-organizations/section1/
