Debates About Subjectivity, Objectvity And Value Freedom

Question 1

What is subjectivity?

Answer 1

The idea that sociologists are part of the society they are studying and that their own values and beliefs will affect research in some way which means it is impossible for them to be completely objective and detached.

Question 2

What is there always some element of in research?

Answer 2

Personal judgement and interpretation.

Question 3

Who is subjectivity most commonly associated with and how do they see interaction and personal involvement with those studied?

Answer 3

Commonly associated with feminists and Interpretivist who see interaction and personal involvement with those studied to be important so that the meanings and interpretation they hold can be understood.

Question 4

What does the collection of qualitative data inevitable involve?

Answer 4

A subjective dimension of selection and interpretation.

Question 5

What is objectivity?

Answer 5

When researchers approach topics with a complete open mind, detachment and distance from those being researched which means research findings are independent of/ not influenced by subjective influences e.g. personal feelings or beliefs of the researcher.

Question 6

What should research give?

Answer 6

A completely unbiased knowledge of the world.

Question 7

Who is objectivity associated with?

Answer 7

Positivists and the use of quantitative scientific methods of sociological rseaerch.

Question 8

How hold subjectivity and objectivity be seen as and why?

Answer 8

A continuum because a lot of sociology falls between the two extremes.

Question 9

What is the mid position between subjectivity and objectivity?

Answer 9

Sociology cant avoid values having some interference but these must not be allowed to affect the research and data collection process itself. This is adopted by most sociologists.

Question 10

What do postmodernists say about the values debate in sociology?

Answer 10

Postmodernists dismiss the whole debate because they see all knowledge as relative and value laden.

Question 11

What did positivists such as Durkheim and Comte want to show when sociology was established as a subject?

Answer 11

That it was possible to study society objectively like scientists study the natural world.

Question 12

What did postivists think sociology should be?

Answer 12

Value free in order to give the subject status and authority so it could be seen as a source of objective information.

Question 13

What could value free sociology provide?

Answer 13

Facts that might be used to influence social policy and improve the world.

Question 14

What did Comte regard sociology as?

Answer 14

‘The queen of the sciences’ and saw sociologists as latter-day priests of a new scientific religion of truth.

Question 15

How did Positivists believe value free sociology could be achieved?

Answer 15

By using similar methods to natural sciences.

Question 16

What did Postivists believe sociology was made up of?

Answer 16

Social structures and social facts which are independent of researchers and could be clearly separated from values of the researcher and studied in an objective, detached way like natural science.

Question 17

How was it possible to test theories using reliable valid data which could be checked by other researchers, establish the cases of social behaviour, uncover the laws of human society and make predictions? What are two examples of this?

Answer 17

Through the study of social facts and the collection of empirical qualitative data using the hypothetical-deductive scientific method.
Durkheims study of suicide using official suicide statistics.
Marx’s study of capitalism which led him to believe the inevitability of communism.

Question 18

Because the collection of facts can be separated from the subjective views and values of the researchers what can sociology become?

Answer 18

An unbiased, objective, value free science of society.

Question 19

What are things which make it impossible to avoid the influence of values completely?

Answer 19

• Academic training
• Paradigm or perspective they have learnt for interpreting and evaluating evidence.
• Assumptions of society.
• Beliefs about what important areas of study are.

Question 20

What are facts not?

Answer 20

Meaningful in themselves.

Question 21

What must participants observers have in sociology?

Answer 21

Some framework for identifying what they should look at and for interpreting the significance of what they see.

Question 22

What is it impossible to know without a theoretical framework?

Answer 22

What to observe, what research methods to use or to make sense of what’s observed. These depend on theoretical assumptions and interpretations of the researcher.

Question 23

What does Weber make a sharp distinction between?

Answer 23

Value judgments and facts arguing we cant derive one from another.

Question 24

In Weber’s view what can a value not be?

Answer 24

Proved or disproved by facts because they belong in different realms.

Question 25

What is Weber’s four stages of research process?

Answer 25

1. Values as a guide to research
2. Data collection and hypothesis testing
3. Values in interpretation of data
4. Values and the sociologist as a citizen

Question 26

Weber: values as a guide to reasearch

Answer 26

Phenomenology - social reality is made of meaningless infinity of facts and so the best a researcher can do is choose certain facts and study these.
We select based on our values and their value relevance to us e.g. feminists would choose to study male streaming.

Question 27

Weber: Data collection and hypothesis testing

Answer 27

When collecting facts values and prejudice should be kept out of the process and leading questions should be avoided.
Once facts have been collected they can be used to test a hypothesis which values must be kept out of.
They hypothesis must stand or fall on whether or not it fits the observed facts.

Question 28

Weber: Values in interpretation of data

Answer 28

Facts need to be set in a theoretical framework so we can understand their significance and draw conclusions from them.
Weber sees the choice of theoretical framework/ perspective to be influenced by our values and so we must be explicit about them by spelling out our values so that other can see if unconscious bias is present in our interpretation of data.

Question 29

Weber: Values and the sociologist as a citizen

Answer 29

Weber argues scientists and sociologists are citizens and human beings and so they mustn’t dodge moral and political issues their work raises by hiding behind words such as ‘objectivity’ or ‘value freedom’ and rather should take moral responsibility for harm their research might do.
E.g. Einsteins theories helped the development of the atomic bomb but he spoke against nuclear weapons.

Question 30

How does Weber see values as?

Answer 30

Relevant to the sociologist in choosing what to research, interpreting data collected and deciding the use which the findings should be put to.
He strongly believes sociologists values must be kept out of the actual process of fact gathering.

Question 31

What does positivists belief in objective reality lead them to search for?

Answer 31

Causes of social behaviour using quantitative data which they see as untainted by the values of the researcher.

Question 32

What do interpretivists suggest the only way to discover meanings is through?

Answer 32

Qualitative data through close involvement with those being researched and by subjective interpretation of what those meanings and interpretations are.

Question 33

Using suicide as an example how do positivists and interpretivists differ?

Answer 33

Positivists look at social facts which constrain individuals and make someone more vulnerable to suicide than others whereas interpretivists look are more likely to examine the process by which some sudden unnatural deaths come to be labelled as suicide when others dont.

Question 34

What does the subjective value judgement of sociologists guide?

Answer 34

What is studied, what questions are asked, methods used and interpretation of information.

Question 35

What are other sources of values which may influence what is studied? What are some examples of this?

Answer 35

Personal prejudices or political values.
Feminists are concerned with malestream and unequal positions of women in patriarchal society and so will study topics that highlight these issues.

Question 36

Why do all different sociologist groups believe sociological rseaerch is worth doing in there chosen area of interest?

Answer 36

It provides a means to improve society in some way.

Question 37

What does Browne say about value free research?

Answer 37

It is not possible for sociology to be value free even if that was desirable…value freedom is therefore a myth.

Question 38

By not providing funding for research areas such as poverty what is the government effectively doing?

Answer 38

Banning the study of areas it finds politically embarrassing which means government funding of research is value laden.

Question 39

What does Gouldner argue it isn’t possible to be free from?

Answer 39

Value judgments in society because value freedom in itself is a value laden concept.

Question 40

How is value freedom a value laden concept?

Answer 40

It is a convenient ideology that serves the career interests of sociologists who will take funding from anyone to sell their research to the highest bidder and avoid taking responsibility for the use of moral consequences of their research.

Question 41

What does Gouldner argue that it is impossible to be?

Answer 41

Value free as sociologists should have clear value-commitment with public responsibility to the improvement of lives of the exploited and oppressed by taking their sides against powerful groups who are the source of their oppression.

Question 42

Why does Gouldner argue that value freedom is undesirable?

Answer 42

Without values to guide research sociologists are merely selling their services to the highest bidder.

Question 43

What question did Becker challenge sociologists to ask?

Answer 43

Whose side are you on.

Question 44

What does Becker say no knowledge is?

Answer 44

Value free as all knowledge favoured someone therefore we have to choose whom to favour.

Question 45

What should sociologists be committed to?

Answer 45

Human improvement and take moral responsibility for their research and therefore abandon the idea of value freedom.

Question 46

How is sociological research being committed to a particular value position shown?

Answer 46

In Becker’s research on labelling theory which aims to understand how some people became labelled as outsiders e.g. criminals by those in power.

Question 47

What does the committed sociology view involve?

Answer 47

Siding with the underdog and giving societies deprived a voice through research and therefore hopefully leading to social change which means from this view sociology shouldnt be neutral.

Question 48

What does Marx say philosophers have done?

Answer 48

Interpreted the world in various ways but the point is to change it.

Question 49

How does Goulder adopt a Marxist perspective?

Answer 49

Taking the view of the underdog and those who are fighting back - political radicals struggling to change society.

Question 50

What does Goulder say sociology should be committed to?

Answer 50

Ending their oppression by unmasking the ways the powerful maintain their position.

Question 51

What does the idea of relativism argue?

Answer 51

Different groups, cultures and individuals have different views to what is true as each sees the world in their own way.
There is no independent way of judging whether any view is truer than any other.

Question 52

Which Postmodernists discuss the values debate?

Answer 52

Lyotard and Baudrillard

Question 53

What do Postmodernists suggest subjectivity/ objectivity and value freedom reflects?

Answer 53

The values and assumptions of competing sociologists.

Question 54

What do Postmodernists argue?

Answer 54

There is no objective truth.
All forms of knowledge are social constructions involving values.
None are more objective or valuable than others - all are equally valid.

Question 55

What do Postmodernists argue?

Answer 55

The assertion of the importance of value free knowledge is simply an attempt by some groups to establish their interpretation as the only true or valid approach to studying society.

Question 56

What is sociology another of according to postmodernists ?

Answer 56

Metanaarrative claiming its knowledge and understanding of the world is better than other forms of knowledge.

Question 57

Why is relatvisim self defeating?

Answer 57

It claims to be telling us something true whilst simultaneously telling us no one can tell us what is true.

Question 58

What do all sociologists despite theoretical and methodological perspectives argue they should do?

Answer 58

Produce research evidence that provides the fullest and most reliable explanations of social life which will make their research be taken seriously by other sociologists and policy makers.