Positvism

Question 1

positivism

Answer 1

the study of social facts in a systematic and scientific way

Question 2

quantifiable data

Answer 2

social facts measured and quantified objectively, allowing other researchers to replicate it (reliability)

Question 3

structural view

Answer 3

society is shaped by social institutions which control the behaviour of individuals

Question 4

macro perspective

Answer 4

looking at the bigger picture rather than interactions between individuals

Question 5

type of data positivists collects

Answer 5

objective and quantitative

Question 6

positivist view on sociology being a science

Answer 6

society can be studied scientifically in the same way as the natural sciences

Question 7

lab and field experiments

Answer 7

provide causal relationships between factors

Question 8

comparative method

Answer 8

comparing data (official stats) to analyse trends and behaviour

Question 9

DURKHEIM comparative method

Answer 9

observed social facts (causes) behind differences in suicide frates across Western Europe. Result: subject to integration and regulation

Question 10

closed questionnaires and structured interviews

Answer 10

easily quantified and replicated: reliable

Question 11

non-participant observation

Answer 11

behaviours observed from a distance to prevent researcher interference as its detached

Question 12

strength: cause-and-effect

Answer 12

correlations between two factors

Question 13

strength: quantitative data

Answer 13

data in numerical form which is more objective and scientific as it does not require value judgement for analysis

Question 14

strength: preferred by governments

Answer 14

large scale applications help to formulate social policies

Question 15

strength: reliability

Answer 15

can be replicated and proved/disproven POPPER falsification

Question 16

limitation - lacks validity

Answer 16

demonstrate but do not provide rationale behind trends with no subjectivity to improve representative of views

Question 17

limitation - focuses too heavily on structural elements (deterministic)

Answer 17

ignores agency and free will of individuals to choose how they react to social forces

Question 18

limitation - too fixed

Answer 18

do not reflect diversity and fluidity of contemporary society due to ‘one-size-fits-all’ theory to understand human behaviour

Question 19

limitation - no insight

Answer 19

does not gain insight into lives of individuals, focuses on what not why (meanings and motivations)

Question 20

crime and education statistics

Answer 20

rates of offending, educational achievement (social class, gender, ethnicity)

Question 21

social attitude surveys

Answer 21

covers domestic division of labour, consumer habits, media usage (CENSUS every 10 years)