6.1 What is the relationship between theory and methods Flashcards
What is positivism
Refers to how the social world or society is organised. Treat people as objects whose behaviour can be directly observed.
What approach do positivists take
A macro approach
What is reliability
Refers to the extent which it can be repeated
What is validity
Validity refers to the ability of results of an experiment to be generalized beyond the immediate study.
What does objective/ value free mean
Free from bias
What does Generlisation mean
Can apply to the wider population
Study which used positivistic methods
Study of Suicide - Durkheim (1897)
What is interpretivism
Interpretivism is the view that people are active conscious beings with free will who are aware of what is going on in social situations. Free will and Ethnographic.
What is a study of Interpretivism
Coroners and suicide - Atkinson (1978) Argued that Durkheims methodlodgy was flawed because he failed to recognise that suicide statistics are socially construcuted by coroners.
What do interpretivists strongly believe
That unique and trusting relationships and rapport should be established.
What do Positivists critique about interpretivisi
- unsystematic and unstrucutred. Focuses on naturallly occurring behaviour
- Requrires researcher to be part of study (obstructive)
- Ethnographies are not always representative
