experiments Flashcards
what kind of data do positivists aim to create
quantitative
key ideas of positivism
human behaviour comes from a response to observable facts
allows cause and effect statements
direct observations should be used to study society
focuses on social institutions, not the individual
scientific models of research can be followed
sociology can be a science and value free
Durkheim - key positivist view
social facts are things - sociologists can be objective and value free
Marx - key positivist view
theories based on cause and effect.
empirical data used to determine the effects of capitalism on social class
Popper - Hypothetico-deductive model
no hypothesis can be finally proven to be true
aim of the researcher is to disprove theirs or others hypothesis’
the more a hypothesis can stand up to tests, the more likely it is to be true
hypothetico
the hypothesis - a predicted answer to the research question
deductive
hypotheses are drawn from a number of resources -
this is the process of working something out from the general to the particular
paradigm
a particular and accepted set of thoughts and assumptions about a topic or phenomena
what did Kuhn argue about Paradigms
scientists work within paradigms
paradigms are learned by scientists in their training and they come to accept them as a norm
if the weight of evidence becomes too much, a paradigm shift may occur
paradigm shift
occurs when the weight of evidence becomes too much - this is called a scientific revolution - new ideas replace old ones but all evidence is again made to fit one sole idea.
lab experiments
used to test hypothesis in a situation where variables can be controlled
field experiments
carried out in natural settings - ecological validity
possibility of extraneous variables impacting the results
real life - people act naturally - less demand characteristics
examples of laboratory experiments
Milgram
Bandura
examples of field experiments
Rosenhan
Elton Mayo - hawthorne effect
Elton mayo’s study
investigated the phenomenon of people changing their behaviour due to being observed or investigated
carried out at the hawthorne Works in Illinois
hawthorne effect - the alteration of behaviour by the subjects of a study due to their awareness of being observed
original study was to examine the workers’ productivity against a number of variables, biggest impact made by being observed
