theory and methods - subjectivity, objectivity and value freedom

Question 1

What is meant by subjectivity?

Answer 1

• sociologists are involved in what they are researching and their own values and beliefs will affect the research in some way
• they are routinely involved in making choices about the things they are researching, and there are always some elements of personal judgement and interpretation in any research

Question 2

Which theories is subjectivity most commonly associated with?

Answer 2

• interpretivists and feminists - they believe that it is necessary to have interaction, personal involvement and closeness to those being studied in order to fully understand the meanings and interpretations they hold
• the collection of qualitative data inevitably involves a subjective dimension of selection and interpretation

Question 3

What is meant by objectivity?

Answer 3

• researchers approach topics with a totally open mind and with complete detachment, separation and distance from those being researched
• research should provide completely unbiased knowledge about the world, and the researcher simply collects data which are totally external to their own views

Question 4

Which sociologists are mainly associated with objectivity?

Answer 4

• positivist sociologists and the use of quantitative methods

Question 5

What are the three main competing positions in the ‘values debate’?

Answer 5

1. sociology should and can be value free
2. sociology cannot be value free
3. sociology should not be value free, even if it were possible

Question 6

What is meant by sociology should be value free?

Answer 6

• positivists e.g. Comte and Durkheim though that sociology should be value free in order to give the subject the status and authority that would enable it to be regarded as a source of impartial, objective information

Question 7

How has it been argued that sociology can be value free?

Answer 7

• sociology could be value free so long as it used similar methods to those used in the natural sciences
• through the study of social facts and the collection of empirical quantitative data using the hypothetico-deductive scientific method, it was possible to test theories using reliable and valid data

Question 8

What is meant by the myth of value freedom?

Answer 8

• it is impossible for any natural or social scientists to avoid the influence of values completely
• sociological research doesn’t consist of facts that ‘speak for themselves’ - facts are not meaningful in themselves

Question 9

What is sociological investigation arguably based on?

Answer 9

• researcher’s subjective assumptions about the nature of people in society
• e.g. positivists believe society exists as an objective reality with social structures moulding individual behaviour this leads positivists to search for the causes of social behaviour by the collection of quantitative data

Question 10

What are other sources of values?

Answer 10

• the personal prejudices and political views of the researcher may influence the selection of the subjects studied
• e.g. feminist sociologists are likely to study subjects that highlight the inequality of women

Question 11

What does Gouldner add to the debate of value freedom?

Answer 11

• argues that it is not possible to be free from value judgements in sociology
• value-freedom itself is a value-laden concept
• those clinging to the ideology of value-freedom have sold out to the establishment to protect their careers by refusing to take a stand and criticise society as it is
• pretending to be value free and not taking sides supports the powerful in an unequal society

Question 12

How do postmodernists engage in the values debate?

Answer 12

• they suggest the value-freedom debate simply reflects the values and assumptions of competing sociologists
• there is no objective truth, and all forms of knowledge are social constructions
• sociology, whether or not it claims to be value free is just another metanarrative

Question 13

How should sociologists deal with values in research?

Answer 13

• all sociologists whatever their theoretical or methodological persepctive, would agree that they should strive to produce research that provides the fullest, most reliable and most valid explanations of social life

Question 14

What are the three ways in which we can accept the existence of values in sociology?

Answer 14

1. values can’t be avoided when choosing the topic to research, but values and personal prejudices should never be allowed to enter the research process itself
2. values and personal prejudices should be considered when examining the ethics of research
3. findings should be open to inspection, criticism, debate and testing by other researchers