Interpretivism Vs Positivism

Question 1

What are two key concepts in Interpretivism?

Answer 1

Verstehen - Empathetic understanding of human behaviour
Social construct - phenomena that is created by society and not naturally occurring. It will vary from culture to culture.

Question 2

What is the interpretivist approach to sociological research?

Answer 2

To understand the world you need to be empathetic in order to understand the meanings attached to action.

Question 3

How do interpretivist study sociology compared to a natural science?

Answer 3

Natural science - Causation, Observable phenomena, External Stimuli

Interpretivism - Meanings and interpretations, Unobservable, Conscious beings / Free Will

Question 4

Prefered interpretivist data type and methods

Answer 4

Qualitative data

Methods such as: Unstructured Interviews Observations Open Questionnaires

Question 5

Interpretivist sociological perspectives

Answer 5

Social Action theories such as Symbolic Interactionism, Phenomenology, ethnomethodology.

Question 6

Types of Interpretivism

Answer 6

1
Interactionism:
There can be causal explanation in sociology but there is no need for a hypothesis before starting research. By stating an hypothesis at the start of the study Glaser and Strauss argue that researchers run the risk of imposing their own views on the data rather than those of the actors being researched. Instead there should be a grounded theory which means allowing ideas to emerge as the data is collected which can later be used to produce a testable hypothesis.
2
Phenomenology & Ethnomethodology
Rejects the idea that here can be cause explanations for human behaviour and that society is not out there determining our actions. Instead they argue that society is a shared set of meanings and knowledge. They are interested in finding out what these shared meanings are and where they originate from.

Question 7

Who are some interpretivists?

Answer 7

Weber
Garfinkle
Bulmer
Goffman
Cooley
Mead
Husserl

Question 8

What are 3 key concepts in positivism?

Answer 8

Social Facts- these are things such as institutions, norms and values which exist external to the individual and constrain the individual.
Induction - involves accumulating data about the world through careful observation and measurement
Causality means the relationships between cause and effect. How one stimuli can lead to a certain action.

Question 9

What is the positivst approach to sociological research?

Answer 9

Sociology should approach research in the same way as the natural sciences. It should be objective and logical.

Question 10

What is the prefered data type and methods of positivists

Answer 10

Quantitative Data and Methods such as:
* Closed Questions
* Structured Interviews
* Experiments

Question 11

What are positivist sociological perspectives

Answer 11

Structural Approaches such as Functionalism, Marxism and Feminism

Question 12

2 positivists

Answer 12

Durkhiem and Comte

Question 13

Why do positivsts prefer quantitative data

Answer 13

Positivists prefer quantitative data and as far as possible should follow the experimental method of the natural sciences. This will allow them to uncover and measure patterns of behaviour which will lead them to
create social facts which govern society. Also by using quantitative data the positivists believe that they are able to uncover cause and effect that determine human behaviour. Positivists believe that research should be detached from subjective feelings and interpretations it is claimed that a scientists beliefs and values have no impact on their findings and sociologists should be the same .