Methodological Perspectives Flashcards
Who views Sociology as a science?
Positivist
Who uses Qualitative methods?
Interpretivist
What do Positivists wish to uncover?
Social trends
Which subjects do Positivists like?
Natural sciences like Biology
What Quantitative methods do Positivists prefer?
Official statistics, surveys, questionnaires
Why do Positivists prefer quantitative methods?
Reliability and representativeness
What approach do Positivists like?
Macro Approach
What are macro approaches?
Large scale surveys
Why do Positivists like Macro approaches?
To get an overview of society as a whole
What is the comparative method?
Sociologists tend to look for correlations between two or more variables
Who likes to use the Comparative method?
Positivists
Who likes to use the Comparative method?
Positivists
What are Positivists more interested in?
Patterns and trends rather than individuals
What do interpretivists argue?
People are not just puppets that react to external forces
Who believes that individuals are intricate and complex?
Interpretivists
What do Interpretivists argue about Objective Reality
Different people experience and understand it in different ways
Why do Interpretivists not believe in scientific methods?
People have their own different reasons for how they act in the world
Who do Interpretivists want to understand?
Social actors
What method do Interpretivists prefer?
Qualitative methods
What are the types of qualitative methods that interpretivists use?
Participant observation and unstructured interviews
What do Interpretivists argue for understanding?
To understand human action, we need to understand the ‘empathetic understanding’
What is Empathetic understanding?
To see the world through the eyes of the actors doing the acting
What is Empathetic understanding?
To see the world through the eyes of the actors doing the acting
What do Positivists argue?
Society shapes the individuals
