Debates Flashcards
(14 cards)
what do positivists favour?
scientific approach quantitative data
patterns and trends
cause and effect
what do interpretivists favour?
non-scientific approach
qualitative data
verstehen
detail
sociology CAN and SHOULD be a science
Positivists
although his study has faults there are strengths to using positivist methods
Durkheim and other positivist sociologists want sociology to be perceive and follow the same structure as the natural sciences
by doing this they believe that sociology can gain true, objective knowledge similar to the natural sciences
this will allow sociologists to use objective information in order to solve social problems and achieve progress
By using official statistics, Durkheim was able to make comparisons of suicide statistics across Europe
The large amount of data he used allowed his findings to be representative
Sociology CANNOT and SHOULD NOT be a science
Interpretivists
Scientific research methods are inappropriate to study society
society can not be quantified or put in to a lab which other positivist methods seek to do
Interpretivists argue that sociologists should seek to gain verstehen in their research. They believe that qualitative research should be gained
Douglas criticised Durkheim’s suicide study as he uses quantitative data and seeks to study the topic through official statistics
Such issues should be studied sensitively using qualitative data to allow the researcher to gain in depth data and would allow them to build verstehen
Douglas studied suicide using documents such as suicide notes
values validity over reliability
Sociology CAN and SHOULD be a science
Paradigm shift
Sometimes science goes through a paradigm shift - as confidence in the existing paradigm declines, scientists seek for new answers
a scientific revolution takes place as scientists look for a robust set of findings
when the science community accepts the competing paradigm this becomes the new paradigm and indicates that a paradigm shift has occurred
In sociology, paradigm shifts have occurred. In the past sociologists such as functionalists and Marxists agreed that we were in a modern society but a new theory of sociologists have emerged (postmodernists) who argue we have moved away from modernity indicating that a paradigm shift has occurred in sociology
Sociology CANNOT and SHOULD NOT be a science
Paradigms
paradigm = shared set of assumptions everyone believes in e.g all biologists believe in photosynthesis
Scientists come to accept the paradigm uncritically because of their socialisation
The natural sciences all have a paradigm in which scientists base their research on
According to Kuhn science can not exist without a shared paradigm because without a consensus there would only be rival thoughts and no unified body of research
sociology does not have a paradigm as competing theories exist
For example the New Right are not in agreement with feminists, indicating that a shared set of assumptions do not exist in society
Sociology should be value FREE
Early positivists
You don’t need your own ideas about social problems, the data will tell you
Early positivists such as Comte believed in the enlightenment project - they believe that science could discover factual knowledge which could be used to improve society
sociology is the science of society and it was the job of sociology to discover the truth about how society works. With this knowledge sociology could fix societal problems
Comte argues that this gives sociology a crucial role. By discovering the truth about society sociologists will be able to say objectively and with scientific certainty what is best for society
Therefore, you don’t need your own ideas about social problems, the data will tell you
Sociology should be value DRIVEN/LADEN
Committed Sociologists
Gouldner argues that sociologists should be committed to their discipline
sociology should openy take sides by advocating values and interests of particular groups in society - notably the ‘underdogs’
sociology can not be value free
feminists would take a similar stance by arguing that sociologists should be on women’s side so that they have a voice in a patriarchal society - shown by dobash and dobash
empathising with participants allows for verstehen
Sociology should be value FREE
Positivists
Durkheim used official statistics to study suicide. He wanted to establish reasons for suicide and by using statistics he was able to compare and contrast suicide rates across Europe.
Positivists favour cause and effect research
By using this method he was able to leave his thoughts and opinions out of the research process - this made his research objective
Objectivity is key for Durkheim as researchers should not taint the research process or data by imposing their values as it will result in data with low validity that is biased.
Sociology should be value DRIVEN/LADEN
Interpretivists
Interpretivists argue that sociologists should conduct value laden research - sociologists should impose and include their values in the research process
By doing this, sociologists would gain in-depth, rich, qualitative data which will allow the researcher to gain verstehen
Douglas criticises Durkheim’s suicide study as he uses official statistics
this doesn’t gain any verstehen and so the researcher can’t know the real cause of the suicide
Douglas argues that suicide statistics are socially constructed as coroners decide whether a death constitutes as a suicide. This is a subjective decision and may differ from one to another and therefore the validity of his study is low
Sociology COULD and SHOULD influence social policy
Liberal feminism
feminists believe that society is based on conflict between genders
society is patriarchal and benefits men at women’s expense
liberal fem adopt a march of progress view - they argue that women’s rights have improved over time and legislation is a main reason for this
lib fem have campaigned and conducted research which has had an impact on numerous policy areas
for example in education sociology has influenced policies such as learning materials that promote a more positive image of females in order to avoid gender bias
Sociology CANNOT and SHOULD NOT influence social policy
Difference feminism
Difference fem argue that patriarchy is experienced in different ways
women experience the world in diff ways
e.g a black disabled woman in WWI has a different experience to a hispanic woman in the third world
they argue that feminists should work to highlight the diversity of women’s experiences of the world rather than categorising them all together; an approach that tends to marginalise certain groups
with this in mind social policies must reflect the interests of different women and their needs however this proves impossible as policies can’t be made in a way that helps all women
Sociology COULD and SHOULD influence social policy
The New Right
Although they don’t like the current policies, they have influenced policies before e.g in education and make numerous suggestions - proves they believe it can and should even though they don’t like the current ones
The new right believe in state intervention in areas such as family life and education undermines self-reliance and an individual sense of reality
this leads to greater social problems like crime
Murray argues that generous welfare benefits acts as a perverse incentive - explain this
encourages dependency culture and an underclass of single mothers, absent fathers and unsocialised children
The NR promote the traditional NF as this is ideal for primary socialisation and allows the family to be self reliant
man - instrumental
woman - expressive
makes sure govt intervention not needed
Although they are critical of numerous current policies they are closely aligned with the conservatives and support their policies on welfare as it reduces the dependency culture
they also favour a tougher stance on crime and punishment - they adopt a zero tolerance approach
Sociology CANNOT and SHOULD NOT influence social policy
Radical feminism
they differ from liberal and argue that policies aren’t enough to tackle patriarchy
radical solutions e.g separatism needed not policy
They criticise the New Right view on social policy as theyhold traditional views that rad fem are very critical of
By reducing benefits to minimise the number of LPFs radicals argue this discriminates against women as they are mainly female headed
if the policies that the NR propose where to go ahead in society, women would be plunged even further into their unfavourable position
therefore policy disadvantages women and therefore radical solutions are needed
