Debates

Question 1

How do logical positivists believe scientists carry out their research?

Answer 1

Logical positivists believe that scientists search for scientific laws.
The researcher observes something and decides that it needs to be explained. So, creates a hypothesis to explain the observed phenomenon. The hypothesis is tested by experiments.
If the experiments agree with the hypothesis, then the hypothesis becomes a scientific law.
This is the process of VERTIFICARION, which involves checking that something is true.
Scientific laws are universal, they explain all phenomena which are similar to the one which was observed in the first place.

Question 2

what does POPPER believe scientific experiments should dO?

Answer 2

Popper (1959, 1963)
argued that experiments should try to prove the hypothesis wrong. He called this falsification. The idea is that you cannot ever prove a hypothesis 100% correct, no matter how much evidence you have got, but you can prove it wrong with just one piece of evidence that contradicts it.
Popper believed that it was not possible to know absolute truth because you cannot prove things are correct.

Question 3

EVALUATION of positivist Popper:

Answer 3

Popper makes science a public activity because for a theory to be falsifiable it needs to be open to criticism from other sociologists. In this way scientific knowledge can grow rapidly as flaws in theories can be readily exposed and better theories developed.
Popper shows that free expression and the right to challenge accepted ideas in society are important.
Popper’s view has been criticised by later philosophers of science who point out that an experimental result might disagree with a hypothesis because of experimental error or mistakes.

Question 4

How does Kuhn criticise the way scientists make observations assumptions?
When does KUHN argue scientific progress is made?

Answer 4

HE disagreed with both logical positivists and Popper, believing that science uses an accepted body of knowledge to solve puzzles. He called this ‘normal science’. He thought that scientists took a lot of assumptions about the world for granted. This assumed way of looking at the world was called a paradigm.
Kuhn said that what scientists do is constrained by the paradigm they take for granted. For example, for hundreds of years people thought that the Sun went around the Earth, and astronomical observations were interpreted according to the paradigm that the Sun went around the Earth.
Kuhn argues that big leaps of scientific progress come about when evidence which does not fit the paradigm builds up to the point where it cannot be ignored. Then, scientists come up with a new paradigm. This process is called scientific revolution.

Question 5

Evaluation of KUHN:

Answer 5

Kuhn views the scientific community pessimistically. He argues that it is not characterised by openness or originality.
He views scientists as conformists who unquestioningly accept the key ideas of the paradigm as a basis for making progress.

Question 6

What is realist sociology?

Answer 6

Realists, such as KEAT and URRY, believe that sociology can be scientific, but they divide science into two types:

1) The study of closed systems – this includes subjects like chemistry where the variables are closely controlled, and laboratory experiments can be done
2) The study of open systems – this includes subjects such as meteorology where the variables are difficult or impossible to control. Scientists cannot make very accurate predictions and cannot easily test them experimentally.

Sayer (1984) argued that sociology is the scientific study of an open system. Society is too complex a system to lend itself to accurate predictions and experiments, but that does not mean that sociology is not a science.
Realists use qualitative as well as quantitative methods.
Realists argue that science is not fundamentally defined by the collection and recording of observable data. For them, it is the search for the underlying causes of things, even if those causes are not directly observable.
Realists believe that the mechanisms behind social trends and phenomena are real and can be scientifically studied. They argue that sociology cannot be entirely value-free, but researchers must try to collect and present data in a clear and neutral way.

Question 7

Is sociology a science? (KUHN)

Answer 7

Kuhn argues that sociology does not have a paradigm. There is not a consensus as to what it is about and how it is done. According to Kuhn, sociology does not count as a science.

Question 8

Is sociology a science? (POPPER)

Answer 8

Popper said that some sociological concepts were not scientific as they could not possibly by proven wrong. For example, Marxism predicts that there will be a revolution leading to a classless society but that it has not happened yet because of false consciousness. The prediction cannot be falsified because if there is a revolution, Marxism is correct. If there is not a revolution, Marxism is still correct.
However, Popper believed that sociology could be a science if it made hypotheses which could be falsified. Ford (1969) hypothesised that comprehensive schooling would produce social mixing of pupils from different social classes. She was able to test and falsify this hypothesis through empirical research.

Question 9

Is sociology a science? (POSITIVISTS)

Answer 9

Positivists think sociology should be scientific, like natural sciences, and analyse social facts. Positivists define social facts as things that can be directly observed and measured. Positivists claim that social facts are external to individuals and constrain their behaviour.
Positivists look for correlations in data, and cause and effect relationships. To do this, they use quantitative methods like questionnaires and official statistics, which are objective and reliable.

Question 10

IS sociology a science? (realists)

Answer 10

Realists view much of sociology as scientific. Realists regard Marxism as scientific because it sees underlying structures such as capitalism producing effects such as poverty. Similarly, sociologists can also be scientific when they interpret behaviour in terms of actors’ internal meanings, even though they are unobservable.

Question 11

What research/study did Durkheim produce to show sociology was a science?

Answer 11

Durkheim (1897) chose to study suicide to show that sociology was a science.
Using official statistics, Durkheim observed that there were patterns in the suicide rate. Rates for protestants were higher than for Catholics.
He concluded that these patterns could not be the product of the motives of individuals but were social facts – there were forces acting on members of society to determine their behaviour.
Durkheim believed that the social facts responsible for determining the suicide rate were the levels of integration and regulation.
Catholics were less likely than Protestants to commit suicide because Catholicism was more successful in integrating individuals.
Durkheim therefore claimed to have discovered a ‘real law’ – different levels of integration and regulation produce different rates of suicide.

Question 12

How do interpretivists reject Durkheim’s study of sociology as a science?

Answer 12

Douglas (1967) rejects the positivist idea of external social facts determining our behaviour.
To understand suicide, he argued that we must uncover the meanings for those involved, rather than imposing our own meaning on the situation.
Douglas also rejects Durkheim’s use of official statistics arguing that they are just social constructions resulting from the way coroners label certain deaths. Douglas proposed we use qualitative data from case studies of suicides to reveal the actors’ meanings.

Atkinson (1978) also rejects the idea that external social facts determine behaviour and agrees that statistics are socially constructed but argues we will never know the ‘real rate’ of suicide since we can never know for sure what meanings the deceased held. Atkinson argues that the only thing that we can study about suicide is the way the living makes sense of deaths.

Question 13

What is interpretivism? What do they believe?

Answer 13

Interpretivist sociologists try to understand human behaviour from the point of view of the individual, so they use qualitative methods that let them discover the meanings, motives and reasons behind human behaviour and social interaction.
Interpretivists say sociology is about unobservable internal meanings, not external causes. Because of this, many interpretivists reject the use of natural science methods and explanations as a model for sociology. They argue that people have consciousness and free will to make choices and do not respond automatically to external stimuli.
Weber said it is important to use empathy to figure out why an individual is doing what they are doing. He called this verstehen. Interpretivists do this a lot; it is putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. This involves abandoning detachment and objectivity. For this reason, interpretivists favour the use of qualitative methods and data such as participant observation, unstructured interviews, and personal documents.

Types of Interpretivism:
Interactionists believe that we can have causal explanations but reject the positivist view of starting research with a definite hypothesis. Glaser and Strauss (1968) argue that this risks imposing our own view on what is important, rather than taking the actors’ viewpoint. They favour a ‘bottom up’ or grounded theory approach. Rather than entering the research with a fixed hypothesis, our ideas emerge gradually from the observations we make during the research. These ideas can then be used later to produce a testable hypothesis.

Phenomenologists and ethnomethodologists like Garfinkel completely reject the possibility of causal explanations of human behaviour. They argue that society is not a real thing, and that social reality is simply the shared meanings or knowledge of its members. Because actions are not governed by external causes, there is no possibility of a cause-and-effect relationship.

Question 14

What are values?

Answer 14

general beliefs – about what is important in life and what is right and wrong.

Question 15

Should values be separated from research?

the founding fathers of sociology

Answer 15

Comte (1798-1857), Marx (1818-1883) and Durkheim (1858-1917) thought that sociology should aim to discover social facts about how society works. They believed that society is shaped by big value systems and that all the meanings and values that we attach to things are determined by these systems – they are not really to do with individuals at all. This means that sociologists can study society without worrying about personal value judgements

Question 16

Should values be separated from research? (WEBER)

Answer 16

Weber (1864-1920) disagreed. He argued that there was a crucial difference between the facts discovered by research, and the value judgements attached to those facts. For example, you can prove the fact that net migration has increased, but you cannot prove the value judgement that immigration controls should be tightened.

Weber argued that values are needed when: choosing which area to study; interpreting data, but these values must be clearly stated; choosing how to use the findings and taking responsibility for their use.

However, Weber believed that the research process itself must be kept value-free.

Question 17

Why do 20th century positivists believe research be value-free?

Answer 17

1) Because they viewed sociology as a scientific discipline, positivists believed that it was concerned with social facts, not with value about those facts. Their role was to discover truths about society, not judge society.
2) Sociologists were increasingly sought out by governments to solve social problems. In theory, sociologists could walk away after handing in their research findings. This would mean that the sociologist’s own values were unimportant during the research, and that they would not be responsible for how their research was used.

Question 18

Why do some sociologists believe sociology cannot be Value-free?

Answer 18

Some sociologists say sociology cannot be value free. The decision to research in the first place is value laden. Someone has to decide that the research is worth spending money on. Some say that research that the state or businesses want to see is most likely to get funding. It is difficult to completely avoid bias and interviewer effects. Researcher bias may interfere with structured questionnaires as it is still the researcher who chooses the questions respondents answer.

Question 19

Why do some sociologists believe sociology shouldn’t be value-free?

Answer 19

Some sociologists argue that we should not try to remove values from sociology. They are called committed sociologists.

Some Marxist and feminist sociologists deliberately choose research with an end use that they approve of. They believe that sociology should make value judgements about society and suggest ways it could be better. For example, feminists have researched how the police respond to sexual abuse and used it to try to change policy.

According to Gouldner (1975), value-free research is both impossible and undesirable. It is impossible because you cannot separate value judgements from work. He points to reasons such as value-laden research choice and interviewer effects. It is undesirable because sociologists should use their values to guide them morally. They have to take responsibility for the uses of their work in wider society.

Becker (1970) wants sociologists to take the side of the underdogs in society. He says that if research is committed, then that means taking sides. He believes that it is a good thing if sociologists take sides with the less powerful groups in society such as criminals and the mentally ill.

However, Becker has been criticised for being too focused on powerless groups. Gouldner says that it is more important to help those who are actively trying to fight back against their powerlessness.

Question 20

How do funding, careers and cultures introduce values into research?

Answer 20

The way in which the research project is funded, and the career of the sociologist can also introduce values into research. For example, if the research is funded by a charity that helps homeless people, the research data may be interpreted in a way that suggests homeless people need more support from the government. Some may censor themselves for fear that being too outspoken will harm their career prospects.

Every culture in society has its own values and beliefs, and each culture thinks that its values and beliefs are true. From a relativist perspective, this means that there is no objective way of saying what is true and what is not. This also applies to research – no one researcher can provide an objective picture of society, because their research always depends on what they think is true. However, this leads to the paradoxical conclusion that we cannot believe relativism; it is telling us what is true at the same time as telling us that no one can tell us what is true.

Question 21

What is a sociological problem?

What is a social problem?

Answer 21

sociological problem: Any social or theoretical issue that needs explaining.
social problem: Something that is seen as being harmful to society in some way and needs something doing to sort it out.

Question 22

How does WORSLEY define sociological and social problems?

Answer 22

Social policy is generally thought of as the plans and actions of governments to tackle social problems, especially the welfare of the population in areas such as education and health.

Worsley (1977) defined a social problem as ‘some piece of social behaviour that causes public friction and, or private misery and calls for collected action to solve it’.

He defined a sociological problem as ‘any pattern of relationships that calls for explanation’. A sociological problem is simply any piece of behaviour that sociologists wish to understand.

All social problems are therefore sociological problems, but not all sociological problems are social problems.

Question 23

Factors affecting social policy (apart from sociologists research findings) :

Answer 23

1) Electoral popularity – would it be popular or unpopular with voters?
2) Ideological and policy preferences of governments – does it fit with the political ideology?
3) Interest groups – who is trying to pressure the government for their own interests? Does the research fit with their views?
4) Globalisation – how does the research influence other nation states?
5) Critical sociology – is the research very critical of the government?
6) Cost – do the government have the funds to implement the suggestions?
7) Funding sources – are the findings of the research reflecting those paying for the research?

Question 24

POSITIVISM and FUNCTIONALISM on social policy:

Answer 24

Functionalists and positivists see the state as serving the interests of society as a whole, producing and implementing rational social polices for the good of all. These policies help society run more smoothing and efficiently. For example, educational policies are seen as promoting equal opportunity and social integration, while health and housing policies assist the family in performing its functions more effectively.

Comte and Durkheim took the view that sociology was a science and would discover both the cause of social problems and scientifically based solutions to them. The sociologist’s role is to provide the state with objective, scientific information on which the state can base its policies.

Functionalists favour social policies that are sometimes referred to as ‘piecemeal social engineering’; they favour a cautious approach, tackling one specific issue at a time.

Question 25

Evaluation of positivist and functionalist perspective of social policy:

Answer 25

The ‘piecemeal approach’ has been criticised. Marxists argue that educational policies aimed at equalising opportunity for children of different classes are often defeated by the influence of poverty in wider society. They argue we need to change the basic structure of society in order to solve these specific problems.

Question 26

The social democratic perspective on social policy:

Answer 26

The social democratic perspective on social policy shares Marxist views that the basic structure of society needs to be changed to solve social problems. It favours a major redistribution of wealth and income for the rich to the poor. Sociologists, such as Townsend (1979), that adopt this perspective argue that they should be involved in researching social problems and making policy recommendations to eradicate them.

Townsend conducted research on poverty. Based on his findings he made recommendations for policies such as higher benefit levels and more public spending on health, education and welfare.

The Black Report (1980) on class inequalities in health made 37 far-reaching policy recommendations for reducing these deep-rooted inequalities. These included free school meals for all children, improved working conditions and more spending to improve housing. The Labour government had originally commissioned the report in 1977 but it was only completed in 1980, the year after Thatcher came to power. Her government refused to implement the recommendations on grounds of cost and tried to restrict its publication.

Question 27

Evaluation of the social democratic perspective of social policy:

Answer 27

Marxists criticise the social democratic perspective. They reject the idea that even policies as far-reaching as those proposed by the Black Report are enough to solve the problem. They believe that capitalism is ultimately responsible for these inequalities and so the problem cannot be solved without abolishing capitalism. Furthermore, they argue that the capitalist state is unlikely to introduce costly public spending policies to benefit the working class.

Postmodernists criticise attempts by sociologists to influence policy. All knowledge produced by research, according to them, is uncertain and so the findings cannot provide a satisfactory basis for policy making.

Question 28

Marxism on social policy:

Answer 28

Marxism believes that the state represents the ruling class and its social policies serve the interests of capitalism not those of society as a whole.

· Policies provide ideological legitimation to mask capitalist exploitation. For example, the welfare state gives the impression that the system cares about the poor, sick and old.

· They maintain the labour force for further exploitation. For example, the NHS serves capitalism by keeping workers fit enough to work.

· They are a means of preventing revolution when class conflict intensifies and threatens the stability of capitalism. For example, Marxists see the policies that created the welfare state after the Second World War as a way of buying off working-class opposition to capitalism.

Marxists do recognise that social policies sometimes provide real, if limited, benefits to the working class. However, the gains are constantly threatened with reversal by capitalism’s tendency to go into periodic crises of profitability, leading to state welfare cuts.

Marxists argue that research that reveals the truth about the social problems capitalism creates will not be used to formulate policies to solve these problems and that the only solution to social problems is a revolution to overthrow capitalism.

According to Marxists, the sociologist’s main role should be to criticise capitalist social policy, not to serve the capitalist state.

Question 29

Evaluation of Marxist perspective on social policy:

Answer 29

Critics argue that Marxist views on social policy and the role of sociologists are impractical and unrealistic. Social democrats criticise them for rejecting the idea that research can help bring about progressive policies within the capitalist system. Poverty researchers have at times had some positive impact on policy.

Question 30

Feminism on social policy:

Answer 30

Feminists believe that the state perpetuates women’s subordination through its social policies. For example, family policies may assume that the ‘normal’ family is a nuclear, heterosexual family. If the state assumes this and offers benefits to married couples, but not cohabiting ones these policies may produce a self-fulfilling prophecy, encouraging the kind of family that the state assumed to be the norm.

Feminist research has had an impact in a number of policy areas. In education it has influenced policies such as learning materials that promote more positive images of females and training to sensitise teachers to the need to avoid gender bias.

Many of these policies reflect the liberal feminist view that anti-discrimination reforms will ultimately bring about gender inequality.

Radical feminists’ ideas have also had some influence on social policy. Separatism is reflected in refuges for women escaping domestic violence. The Women’s Aid Federation supports a national network of over 500 such services, often with funding from the government.

Question 31

Evaluation of feminist perspective on social policy:

Answer 31

It is clear that feminist sociological research has impacted social policies in areas that affect women, however many feminists reject the view that reformist social policies can liberate women. Both Marxist and radical feminists call for more far-reaching changes that the existing state cannot deliver.

Question 32

New right on social policy:

Answer 32

The New Right believe that the state should have minimal involvement in society. They are opposed to using state provision of welfare to deal with social problems. They argue that state intervention takes away people’s freedom to make their own choices and undermines their sense of social responsibility. This in turn leads to greater social problems.

Murray (1984) argues that generous welfare benefits act as ‘perverse incentives’ that weaken family’s self-reliance. They encourage the growth of a dependency culture and an underclass of lone mothers, undisciplined children and irresponsible fathers who abandon their families. Murray therefore favours a reduction in state welfare spending.

The New Right are therefore highly critical of many existing policies. However, they are not opposed to social policy. They see the role of sociologists as being to propose alternative policies. These policies should aim to restore individuals’ responsibility of their own welfare. Breakdown Britain, a report the Social Justice Policy Group (2007), a Conservative think tank, proposes a range of new social policies aimed at the family. These include marriage preparation and parenting classes, and support from the tax and benefit system for mothers who stay at home.

Because of its ideological opposition to the state having a major role in welfare, New Right thinking has tended to be particularly attractive to the Conservative Party. However, some Labour policies have shown the influence of New Right views. New Labour regards a married couple as normally the best place to bring up children.

Although the New Right do not see a major role of the state in welfare, they support a strong law and order policy and research by right realists Wilson and Kelling has been influential in introducing zero tolerance policies.

Question 33

Evaluation of New Right perspective of social policy:

Answer 33

The research used by the New Right has been questioned. The validity of the data on which Murray bases his claims about a link between absent fathers and delinquency has been challenged. Similarly, New Right policy proposals often use the findings of politically sympathetic think tanks.