Can Sociology be Scientific? Flashcards
sociology isn’t scientific - why scientific methods are inefficient?
differences between social and natural world so laboratory experiments and observable quantitative data inefficient
sociology isn’t scientific - problem of prediction
possible to isolate causes in lab conditions (natural sciences)
humans are unpredictable & behaviour cannot be predicted with certainty due to free will/choice
sociology isn’t scientific - artificiality
sociology aims to study society in its natural state rather than artificial conditions
sociology isn’t scientific - ethical issues
humans may object being interrogated and observed in laboratories
sociology isn’t scientific - hawthorne effect
people may change their behaviour and act differently in experiments
results won’t give a true picture of how people behave
sociology isn’t scientific - validity
people may distort the truth, refuse to answer or cooperate
creating untruthful evidence
sociology isn’t scientific - empirical observation
not all social phenomena and peoples meanings/motives is observable
sociology isn’t scientific - interpretivism (why can’t sociology be science?)
due to the differences between studying society and the natural world
sociology isn’t scientific - interpretivism (why its impossible to establish cause-and-effect predictions?)
people interpret and give meaning to a situation before responding
so empirical quantitate data is impossible
sociology isn’t scientific - interpretivism (how should meanings people give to their behaviour be discovered?)
verstehen
sociology isn’t scientific - interpretivism (what is a social construction?)
social phenomena not social facts as peoples definitions change from places and person
sociology isn’t scientific - interpretivism (what method is preferred?)
qualitative methods able to understand peoples subjective view
