Debate 3 - Can and should you carry out research without allowing values to influence Flashcards
What are the three views on whether research can be done with or without values influencing it
Value freedom
Value-laden
Committed sociology
What is the defintion of values
Beliefs, opinions and prejudices, things you view as important
Influenced by many factors including social class, gender ethnicity, upbringing and experiences
What is Value freedom
Research should have no values involved (free from values)
Early positivists argue:
Sociological research is no different from that of physical science
Influenced by the enlightenment period - only improve society by establishing social facts
Social facts can only be uncovered through value freedom and quantitative methods for the researched to remain detatched
Which perspective would we clasify as a perspective with the value freedom belief and why
Marxism - believed that his analysis of society was objective and scientific
Believed society would evolve overtime, leading to communist society
Saw his role as revealing truth of this development
What are the main 3 evaluation points of value freedom
Being value free is impossible: sociologists own perspective will be reflected in the work
Being value free is undesireable: positivists are ‘problem-takers’ - simply conducting research on behalf of organisations and failing to criticise their paymasters
Interpretivism: cannot and should not bee value free - no such thing as ‘social facts’ and should gain verstehen instead
What is webers value-laden
Agrees with positivists to an extent- when carrying out research itself, researcher should and can be objective and value free
BUT values have an essential role in 3 stages - choosing topic, interpreting data and using findings
Researchers should declare their values so others can judge if bias is present
What are the 4 stages of research and which one is where it should be value free (Weber value-laden)
1) Choosing what to study
2) Collecting data and testing hypothesis (objective and value free)
3) Interpreting the data/ drawing conclusion
4) Using data to make changed to society
What iss meant by Funding research as a catagory under value-laden
The values of the funding body may influence research:
Those paying will influence method choice and questions due to having a reason for the research (gov prefer official stats)
Funding bodies can block publication if research is unacceptable
Philo and Miller: all researchers are being silenced because the bodies funding them want research done on topics that benefit them
Researcher benefits financially to do as body suggests
What are the 4 catagories under value-laden
Stages to research
Funding
Career Trajectories
Perspectives
What is meant by Career Trajectories as a catagory under value-laden
Gouldner: personal career ambitions of sociologists - values of those in charge of a promotion will influence the research
Kuhn: some researchers may feel pressured into accpeting the dominant paradigm
May choose ‘fashionable’ topics and avoid studying those that are less desireable to protect reputation
What is meant by perspectives as a catagory under value-laden
Some perspectives say that they are objectives, critics say they will inevitabily influence the topic and the method:
Functionalist: belief in consensus may result on the positive view on functions of institutions - uncritically accept gov stats
Marxists: belief in conflict may result in research on class and conflict
Interpretivists: (sociology cannot/should not be value free)
view society as a social construct leads to qualitative methods to understand meaning - methods require interpretation whihc relies on values
What is the definition of committed sociology
It is not desireable to be value free
Sociology is a tool for change - researchers should use values to ‘pick a side’ and improve society
What are all the 3 catagories/ arguement under sociology should be as committed sociology
Becker - underdog
Goldner - middledog
Feminism
What is Beckers under dog as a catagory for committed sociology
Sociology is responsible to support the underdog: little known about these groups and so a new dimension of society can be uncovered
Through qualitative methods which is subjective: give a voice to marginalised groups - reveal the meaning
Sociology is influenced by values as people choose a side - by not choosing, the sociologist takes the side of the more powerful
What is Goldners middle dog as a catagory for committed sociology
Agrees with becker BUT by taking under dogs side - puts blame on middle dogs who dont have much power - social worker, police
Sociologists need to commit studying to really powerful (top dog)
What did Althusser say about research being for committed sociology
agreed that the aim of research should be to bring down the rick and powerful capitalist people
Under the catagory of Feminism, what does Spender argue for committed sociology
Research should support the underdog but argues it is men that dominate society not the ruling class
What did Hammersley argue about feminism for commited sociology
Rejects objectivity and value freedom
Feminism is influenced by the belief - women are subordinate and sociology is typically malestream
Research should be committed to free women from oppression
Done by choosing methods that give women aa voice - qualitative methods which are subjective and reflect those than reinforcing patriarchy and impose researchers meaning
What study done by a femist is an example for research to be committed to gaining verstehn and be subject to free women from oppression
Oakley ‘The sociology of housework’ study
Use values to overcome power inbalance
What is the evaluation for committed sociology
Committed sociology runs the risk of producing soicology that is a little more personal opinion - personal ideology may distort interpretations which will reduce the validity
What is the ‘Postmodernist relativist view of knowledge’
All knowledge is relative
People have different views as to what is true
One version of truth is not true as truth is based on values - it is a metanarrative
What is the evaluation for the ‘Postmodernist relativist view of knowledge’
Contradictory - does that not mean post mdernists view is also a meta narrative
