Verstehen, empathy and researcher imposition

Question 1

What is verstehen

Answer 1

A form of empathy which allows sociologists to explain social actions by seeing the world from their standpoint

Question 2

What do interpretivists prioritise validity over

Answer 2

Reliability and objectivity

Question 3

What is an interpretivist critique of positivism

Answer 3

• The positivist focus on reliability can result in researcher imposition
• They can focus on what the sociologist values and neglect what the research subject thinks