research methods Flashcards
(25 cards)
Evaluate the view that sociology should be value free
- Sociology should be value free - positivists
- In evaluation, it could be argued sociology cannot be value free, it is value laden
- The importance of values
- Committed sociology
Evaluate the view that sociology should be value free
- Sociology should be value free - positivists
- Durkheim argued sociology should be scientific through objectivity. Researcher should remain unbiased, this is desirable as it ensures research is objective
- Using structured and
scientific methods are desirable as they are not tainted by opinion - Research collected should present social facts independently of the researcher, because they can be tested
and open to criticism by others. - Durkheim’s study of suicide - comparative experiment
- Durkheim showed that statistics could be used to determine the social causes of suicide.
- Eg he concluded that certain religious beliefs shape people’s likelyhood to commit suicide.
- Durkehim argued that suicide rate is determined by how far individuals are integrated into a particular society
- However, in evaluation: Durkheim relied heavily on stats which interpretivists would argue are socially
constructed - Atkinson - stats used in Durkheim’s study were constructed based on the opinion of the coroner who decided
the cause of death, so they are highly subjective, based on the opinion of the individual.
Evaluate the view that sociology should be value free
2.In evaluation, it could be argued sociology cannot be value free, it is value laden
- Sociologists have set values, personal beliefs and interests which will heavily influence their entire research
study. - Gouldner believed that value free sociology is not possible, it is a myth
- He argues we are all influenced by ‘domain assumptions’ - basic beliefs about social life and the nature of
society - Eg functionalists assume society is based on a value consensus
- Even Durkheim was motivated to conduct his research because of the death of a friend.
- It’s impossible to be free from value judgements in sociology, as all research is inevitably influenced by values.
Evaluate the view that sociology should be value free
3.The importance of values
- Max weber - values have a place in both sociology and science
- Values influence the topics we choose - eg feminists likely to researched domestic abuse using unstructured
interviews to find out about their experience - Researcher’s values are inevitably going to be involved in the interpretation of data
- Researchers should take full responsibility for their research and shape how their findings should be put to use.
- In evaluation this is convincing because: eg feminists likely to researched domestic abuse using unstructured
interviews to find out about their experience
Evaluate the view that sociology should be value free
4.Commited sociology
- Sociology should be committed to social change
- Intteractionist Becker argues that no knowledge can be value-free
- All knowledge must favour somebody
- Therefore we must choose whom to favour.
- Sociology should be committed to social change for human improvement
- His research reflected this - it was clear he aimed to understand how some ppl became labelled as ‘outsiders’
- This view involves siding with ‘underdogs’ allowing insight to be gained into their perspective, giving them a
voice, therefore leading to social change. - Values should not only influence research, but should be used to change society (marxist & rad fems)
Sociology as a science debate
- Positivists believe that science is
that which is directly observable and objective; they believe that society is made up of directly observable phenomena. - Interpretivists argue that sociology cannot be a science because sociology is not observable, whereas with science you
can observe a direct cause and effect.
sociology as a science debate
1.positivist
1) Positivism - sociology can be a science because it
is directly observable and objective.
- Positivists argue that sociology can provide
objective data
- Human behaviour can be studied as it can be
observed and measured objectively.
- This is evident through Durkheim’s study of
suicide.
- It was a comparative experiment - suicide
statistics
It used stats to determine social cause of suicide.
- The study concluded that certain religious beliefs
shape likelihood of an individual committing
suicide.
- Another conclusion was the likelihood of
individuals committing suicide is also dependent
on an individuals integration into society.
- Therefore, objective data can be collected and
conclusions can be drawn in sociology.
- Evaluation - interpretivists would argue the study
is subjective because it’s based on the opinion of
the coroner to decide the cause of death, which is
based on individual opinion.
sociology as a science debate
2.Interpretivist
Interpretivists argue that sociology cannot be a science because sociology is not observable, whereas science observes direct cause and effect. In sociology, and the study of human behaviour, you need to look into the motives behind individuals’ actions—this cannot be studied scientifically as it is subjective. For example, Paul Willis conducted unstructured interviews on working-class boys to find out their attitudes towards school and the workworld. The qualitative data he found was that boys thought working hard was not cool—this could not have been studied scientifically. Therefore, sociology studies the unobservable, which science cannot do, so sociology is not a science. Science studies phenomena without consciousness, whereas sociology studies humans with consciousness. For example, water boils at 100 degrees—it just does, with no awareness of its actions—this can be scientifically proven. However, human actions are conscious decisions and should be studied for why they take place.
However, critics of interpretivist approaches point out the lack of reliability in interpretivist methods. They question the purpose of research that is too small-scale to provide solutions—it cannot be generalised. Objectivity is better, and treating sociology as a science is better because findings can be generalised and conclusions made.
Should sociology influence social policy
- YES: New right - sociology should be involved, but only in ensuring a return to tradition and reducing the welfare state.
- YES: Functionalism - social policies benefit all individuals
- NO: Social policies benefit certain individuals and oppress others.
- NO: They don’t benefit all of society, even if they help class inequality they reproduce patriarchal inequalities.
Should sociology influence social policy
YES: new right
New right - sociology should be involved, but only in
ensuring a return to tradition and reducing the welfare
state.
- Murray argues that the welfare state gives
‘perverse incentives’, which weakens self-reliance
and encourages a dependency culture.
- In an ideal world, welfare benefits would not exist.
However, due to how this is now possible, they
believe the state should make welfare benefits
that will reduce the need for them in the future.
- They want sociologists to come up with alternative
policies to the existing ones, they want these new
policies to restore the responsibility that the
welfare state has taken away from individuals and
for individuals to take responsibility for their own
and their families welfare rather than relying on
the state.
- Such as cutting benefits for single parents, as this
would encourage the nuclear family.
- Troubled families programme, marriage tax
allowance
Should sociology influence social policy
YES: Functionalism
Functionalism - social policies benefit all individuals
- Policies are good as they help social mobility and
give equal opportunities in education and the
workplace
- Eg EMA, Pupil premium, FSM
- Help society function
- Durkheim - they should reinforce social solidarity
(teaching of history in school)
- National curriculum and the idea of meritocracy
taught to individuals
- The positivist method of research taken by
functionalists is large scale quantitative analysis,
therefore it is easy for trends and correlations can
be drawn
- From this, policies can be implemented that
benefit the whole of society, therefore sociology
can influence social policies
Should sociology influence social policy
NO: Social policies benefit certain individuals and oppress
others.
Social policies benefit certain individuals and oppress
others.
- They reproduce inequalities
- Marxists argue that social policies benefit the
ruling class
- Eg welfare state - creates the illusion of help
(myth of meritocracy), but is only enough for you
to survive, not to LIVE - it prevents them from
working out their exploitation by providing them
with just enough.
- Social policies benefit capitalism - keeps ruling
class in power
Should sociology influence social policy
NO: They don’t benefit all of society, even if they help class inequality they reproduce patriarchal inequalities.
They don’t benefit all of society, even if they help class
inequality they reproduce patriarchal inequalities.
- Radical feminists argue policies reinforce
patriarchy
- Eg child benefits go to the mother, maternity leave
is longer for women, all these policies reinforce
women’s expressive role.
- Patriarchy needs dismantling.
Research methods
-Questionnaire (positivist)
-Structured interview (positivist)
-Unstructured interview (interpretivist)
-Focus group (group interview) (interpretivist)
-Overt observation (interpretivist)
-Covert observation (interpretivist)
-Structured observation (positivist/interpretivist)
-Field experiment (interpretivist)
-Lab experiment (positivist)
-Public secondary source (positivist)
-Private secondary source (interpretivist)
questionnaires (positivist)
Examples
-Jackson lads & ladettes
-Crime self report study
-Barker- the Moonies
-Sullivan- cultural capital
Advantages
-Quick, efficient.
-Large sample so representative & generalisable.
-Standardised & repeatable.
-Low researcher bias.
Disadvantages
-Low in depth & verstehen.
-Cannot clarify and hard to operationalise.
-Low response rate limits sample size (rep & gen.)
Structured interview (positivist)
Examples
-Eccles- gendered expectations
-Young & Wilmott- symmetrical family
Advantages
-Large sample.
-Formative assessment method.
-Standardised & repeatable.
-Valid- honesty in person.
Disadvantages
-Time consuming (training).
-Limited response detail.
-Requires planning.
-Researcher bias.
Unstructured interview (interpretivist)
Examples
-Labov- black American
language in children
-Oakley- pregnancy
-Sharpe- aspirations
-Gerwitz- parent school choice
Advantages
-Less bias, more validity.
-Increased depth.
-Can operationalise & clarify.
-Easy to record (video).
Disadvantages
-Training of researcher.
-Time consuming.
-Difficult to analyse/compare.
-No way of judging honesty.
Focus group (group interview)(interpretivist)
Examples
-Willis- learning to labour
-Charlesworth- school leavers
Advantages
-May increase confidence.
-High validity.
-Larger sample.
-Scope for unexpected areas of
discussion.
Disadvantages
-Social desirability in group.
-Difficult to analyse.
-Lacks reliability.
-Dominant members may
dictate/ influence others.
Overt
observation
(interpretivist)
Advantages
-No Hawthorne effect.
-Participant high verstehen &
high validity.
-Non-participant helps retain
objectivity.
Disadvantages
-Small sample.
-Time consuming & expensive.
-Participant risk of losing
objectivity.
-Non-participant distant so less
depth.
Examples
-MacIntyre
-‘undercover
teacher’
-Laud Humphries
Structured observation (positivist/
interpretivist)
Examples
-Flanders- Interaction Analysis
Category
Advantages
-Can be used to spot trends and
patterns.
Disadvantages
-Very difficult to predict and
structure human activity.
Field
experiment
(interpretivist)
Examples
-Rosenthal & Jacobsen- ‘spurters’
-Singer- violence on TV
Advantages
-Natural setting.
-High in validity and verstehen.
Disadvantages
-Can be unethical if no informed consent.
-Difficult to control variables in natural settings.
-Small sample.
Lab experiment (positivist)
Examples
-Milgram- electrocution
-Bandura, Ross & Ross- bobo doll experiment
Advantages
-Can control variables and environment.
-Reliable- standardised and repeatable.
Disadvantages
-Small, unrepresentative sample.
-False setting may alter behaviour.
-Social desirability.
-Cannot control external variables.
Public secondary source (positivist)
Examples
-Gerwitz- school publications
-League tables
-Census
-Police statistics
-Death rates in hospitals
Advantages
-Easy access, no gatekeeper.
-Trends & patterns from stats.
-High reliability.
-Census- representative.
-Ethically sound.
Disadvantages
-If publicity, may be biased.
-Researcher bias through interpretation.
-May lack objectivity.
-May be manipulated.
Private secondary source (interpretivist)
Examples
-Hey- notes in lessons
-Young & Wilmott- diaries for
conjugal roles
Advantages
-High validity as less social desirability.
-High in verstehen.
-Can compare social attitudes over time.
Disadvantages
-Ethical issues- informed consent?
-Difficult to access.
-Lack objectivity/ biased.
-Unrepresentative.
