objectivity and values in society Flashcards
Positivists
Sociology can be studied free of values because it is objective
Myrdal and Colder - sociologists should only identify their values, but opening ‘take sides’, espousing the interests of actual groups
it is undesirable to be value-neutral
Weber
sociology can be value-free once the research process has been chosen, but the values need to be explicitly stated
values as a guide to research - we can only select areas of study in terms of their value relevance to us
data collection and hypothesis testing - sociologists must be as objective as possible when actually collecting the facts e.g. not asking leading questions, the hypothesis must succeed or fall solely on whether it fits the observed facts
values in the interpretation of data - facts need to be set in a theoretical framework to understand their significance. this is influenced by the sociologists values, which must be stated explicitly
values and the sociologist as a citizen - sociologists cannot dodge the moral issues their work raises or the uses it is put to by hiding ‘value freedom’
