sociology as a science

Question 1

What do positivists believe are social facts?

Answer 1

things external to us but which have control over us e.g. religion, family

Question 2

What are key positivist ideas about sociology as a science?

Answer 2

-empirical methods of investigation (objectively observable)
-researchers should be detached and objective
-quantitative data used to identify patterns and trends

Question 3

AUGUSTE COMTE (positivist)

Answer 3

‘father’ of positivism; combined use of maths, logic, and sensory experiences to better understand human relationships and actions
-suggested that we are now in a ‘positive’ stage through which we can understand natural phenomena and world events using scientific reasoning

Question 4

DURKHEIM (positivist)

Answer 4

observed patterns in suicide rates (QN data from official statistics) and found patterns between suicide rates and levels of integrations and regulation, establishing cause-and-effect
-concluded the patterns were social facts

Question 5

What do interpretivists believe is social construction?

Answer 5

when something is created by social processes and not natural ones/ not biologically determined

Question 6

What are key interpretivist ideas about sociology as a science?

Answer 6

-social reality is socially constructed
-sociology should be interested in the subjective internal meanings e.g. emotions or motive
-use qualitative data to produce highly valid data
-believe in verstehen and subjectivity

Question 7

MAX WEBER (interpretivist)

Answer 7

believed that in order to truly understand society we must understand why people do things
-coined the term ‘verstehen’ to explain how researchers need to put themselves in the position of those in society in order to understand why they act in certain ways

Question 8

HERBERT BLUMER (interpretivist)

Answer 8

-should look at society in small-scale ‘micro’ interactions> ‘macro’
-in order to understand meaning behind ‘social actors’ behaviour, researchers should immerse themselves in the social actor’s world as this is what caused their behaviour

Question 9

What is the inductive theory?

Answer 9

observation -> pattern -> hypothesis -> theory

Question 10

What is the deductive theory?

Answer 10

theory -> hypothesis -> observation -> confirmation

Question 11

Is the inductive theory verification or falsification?

Answer 11

verification

Question 12

Is the deductive theory verification or falsification?

Answer 12

falsification

Question 13

What is verificationism?

Answer 13

if we gain evidence for something, this suggests the theory is correct, look for evidence to support a theory

Question 14

What is falsificationism?

Answer 14

in science, if something is wrong, we should be able to prove it wrong, looking for evidence to disprove a theory

Question 15

What is the ‘Grounded theory’? (Glaser and Strauss)

Answer 15

-rejects the inductive method
-the grounded theory is where you build up and modify the hypothesis during the course of the research based on the facts we learn and discover during
e.g. w/ unstructured interviews, you can choose questions important to the interviewee

Question 16

Interactionists

Answer 16

-‘bottom-up’ approach
-let the hypothesis emerge from research findings
-allows you to access the social actor’s subjective reality > researcher’s subjective reality

Question 17

Phenomenologists and ethnomethodologists

Answer 17

-anti-structural view: society can’t determine our actions because it is not something that can be objectively observed
-social reality is the shared meanings or knowledge of the members of society
-anti-positivist: believe there is no cause-and-effect behind the social actor’s behaviour

Question 18

KARL POPPER

Answer 18

-leans more towards sociology NOT being a science
-deductive reasoning
-a good theory has two features: is in principle falsifiable AND is bold, makes big generalisations
-favours an open society
-can never be absolute proof that any knowledge is true- open to refutation at any time, temporary etc.

Question 19

Popper’s swan example

Answer 19

single observation of a black swan can disprove the whole statements that ‘all swans are white’
-should look for disproving evidence
-it is easy to make observations verifying a theory so this can never prove a theory

Question 20

Popper believes an open society is..

Answer 20

ones that believe in free expression and the right to challenge accepted ideas

Question 21

Popper believes a closed society is..

Answer 21

ones that are dominated by an official belief system that claims to have the absolute truth

Question 22

Why does Popper think sociology is scientific?

Answer 22

-capable of producing hypotheses that can in principle be falsified
–some untestable ideas may not be worthless as they may be testable at a later date or can still be examined for logical consistency

Question 23

Why does Popper think sociology is unscientific?

Answer 23

-consists of theories that cannot be put to the test with the possibility that they might be falsified e.g. Marxism predicting a revolution-> classless society but this revolution has not happened yet

Question 24

THOMAS KUHN

Answer 24

-a unified paradigm
-the process of ‘normal science’- ‘puzzle solving’ within a paradigm is what makes a science
-sometimes evidence supporting a rival paradigm can contradict the current paradigm which leads to a scientific revolution, where the new paradigm begins to be accepted
-believes sociology is NOT a science as there is no shared paradigm- too many different perspectives but possible if basic disagreements were solved (unlikely to happen)

Question 25

Why would post-modernist sociologists not want sociology to meet Kuhn’s definition?

Answer 25

-the paradigm sounds like a meta-narrative - a dominant and dominating view of what reality is like
-this silences the minority views and claims to have special access to the truth

Question 26

why do you realists disagree with positivists?

Answer 26

KEAL AND URRY argued that science often assumes the existence of unobservable structures like the black hole in space

Question 27

why do realists disagree with interpretivists?

Answer 27

reject the interpretivist view that sociology cannot be studied, scientifically as actors’ meanings are unobservable, but realists argue that you can study unobservable phenomena , so this is no barrier

Question 28

Keat and Urry’s open system

Answer 28

those were the researcher cannot control and measure all the relevant variables and so cannot make precise predictions

Question 29

Keat and Urry’s closed system

Answer 29

those where the researchers can control and measure all the relevant variables, and therefore can make precise predictions
-typical research method= lab experiment

Question 30

Do sociologists study an open or closed system?

Answer 30

open

Question 31

Realist views on whether sociology is a science

Answer 31

would suggest that sociology is scientific, but it just studies science in open systems rather than closed systems
- though not everything is observable, it does have an effect on other aspects of life which tells us that they truly exist even if they cannot be directly observed

Question 32

How do Realist views on Marxism differ to Popper’s views about Marxism?

Answer 32

Realists regard Marxism as scientific because it sees the underlying structures such as capitalism producing effects like poverty

Question 33

What does value freedom mean?

Answer 33

possible and desirable to keep values out of sociological research

Question 34

What does committed sociology mean?

Answer 34

impossible/undesirable to avoid values influencing research

Question 35

Weber’s thoughts on using values in sociological research

Answer 35

-believes values and scientific facts are very different from each other
-Argue that values are still important in certain aspects of social logical research, such as helping us to select which aspects to study, when interpreting data, and when choosing what to do with the data
-However values should not be involved in data collection, hypothesis testing
-Believe sociologist should take moral responsibility for the harm their research may do

Question 36

Myrdal

Answer 36

argues that sociologist should not spell out their values, but should also openly take sides by using their values and interests of particular individuals/groups

Question 37

Becker

Answer 37

an interactionist
-Believe the values are always present in sociology, and instead of seeing things from the perspective of the over dogs, sociologist should adopt a compassionate stance and take the side of the underdogs

Question 38

Gouldner

Answer 38

believes it is not possible or desirable to keep values out
-Criticises Becker for taking a romantic and sentimental approach to disadvantage groups and says that you should instead be taking the side of those ‘fighting back’ in order to bring about meaningful change in society
-instead of describing the viewpoint of the underdogs should be committed to ending the oppression by unmasking of the ways that the powerful maintain their position
-believes or research is inevitably influenced by values, whether it is of the sociologist or the funding body
-believes, even natural sciences are not objective due to existing paradigms, funding, own interests and career paths, that can impact on the choice of the research topic

Question 39

Relativism

Answer 39

-different groups, cultures, and individuals each have their own individual view of society as they each have their own values
-There is no independent way of judging whether any view is truer than others so value freedom is not possible
-all truths are equally valid

Question 40

Postmodernism

Answer 40

takes a relativist view and rejects the view that one account is superior to any other as any perspective that claims to have the truth is just a meta-narrative
BUT CRITIQUE! - but this means post modernism cannot be correct either, which makes the perspective self-defeating as it claims to be telling us the truth while also telling us that no one is capable of telling you what the truth is

Question 41

Early positivists
COMTE AND DURKHEIM

Answer 41

-Job of sociology was to discover the truth about how society works, and uncovering the laws that govern its functioning called the ‘enlightenment or modernist view’
-sociology would reveal the correct society objectively and with scientific certainty
-VALUE FREEDOM

Question 42

Modern positivists

Answer 42

-VALUE FREEDOM
2 reasons:
(1)Want sociology to appear scientific
-facts
-sociologists should remain morally neutral
-aim to raise the status of the subject as an academic discipline
(2) the changing social position of sociology
-in the past, sociology had been a critical discipline, often challenging accepted authority but from 1950s..
-sociologists were being hired to solve other peoples positions, rather than defining their own research problems so their values were not necessary
-but GOULDNER criticised sociologists as being spiritless technicians who are no longer problem-makers but problem-takers- doing research for purposes that might not lead to a good society for these authorities (would not criticise their paymaster) which is what Weber criticised for people not taking moral responsibility for the effects of the research

Question 43

Goffman

Answer 43

by empathising with mental patients, you can show hidden rationality of behaviours the psychiatrist sees as irrational
-Have to be biased in favour of underdogs and against overdogs

Question 44

Marx

Answer 44

use historical analysis and historical materialism to find a line of development of human society, and believes that society would eventually become a future classless, communist society where exploitation, alienation, and poverty will be ended and each individual will be free to reach their true potential
-sees science as helping to deliver the good society and reveal the truth using a scientific approach
-believes his scientific approach will show us how to reach this ideal communist society