Methodology postivitism and interprevitivism Flashcards
Who is was the first sociologist to apply positivism in methodology
Durkehim in his study of suicide
Who was the first interpretivist to apply interpretivism in there findings ?
Weber- calvanism
Introduce the positivist theory
Positivism is the view that logi
What type of approach is positivism ? Give some key ideas on this ideology
- Macro - due to generalisable data ie value consensus
- Associated with functionalism
- Emphasis on reliability
- Favours social facts
What is the positivist view ?
- Positivism is the view that logical methods and procedures of natural sciences can be applied to sociology following the enlightenment
Who are the earliest positivists ?
- Comte
- Durkehim
What is the significance of Durkehims study of Le suicide ?
His study of le suicide highlighted his support of social facts , as this showed the social cause of suicide rather than the individual explanation for suicide.
- his findings were stable reoccurring year after year , his results showed how science and socialisation are linked
What was the interpretivist critique of Durkheim’s study
- Invalid because of biased results ie the use of official stats
- Doesn’t explain the actual cause of suicide
Who critiqued Durkheim’s study of le suicide ?
Douglas- OS( official stats are not valid) decisions on whether a death is a suicide is made on the basis of the coroner which can be influenced by other people. which suggests that results may be biased therefore invalid
Explain the interpretivist approach and some key concepts
- Take a micro approach- small scale
- Favour qualitative data
- ## Favour validity
What is the interprevitivist approach ?
- Interpretivists argue that people give meaning to situations before responding, they argue that it is impossible to predict human behaviour or establish cause and effect relationships through positivist methods ie surveys or observing
