Objectivity and values in Sociology Flashcards
What is a question sociologists try to answer?
Can sociologists research be value-free?
Who are early Positivists?
Comte and Durkheim
What do they see sociology as?
The science of society
What are sociologists able to find by discovering the truth of society?
Find out what is best for sociology objectively and with scientific certainty
What does Marx argue that the role of sociology is?
Reveal the truth of the development of human society through different types of class-based society
What does Weber argue?
We cannot derive value judgement from facts
According to Weber, what do social facts not tell us?
How society should work- in order to understand society we need to develop verstehen
What do we need in order to understand society?
Subjective, value-laden opinions, thoughts and emotions of people
What four stages can Weber’s views of values be divided into?
- Values are a guide to research- help us to select what aspects of reality to study
- Data collection and hypothesis testing-Be as objective and unbiased when collecting facts as possible
- Interpretation of data- understand our theoretical framework through which we interpret social facts
- Sociologists as citizens- moral duty to be responsible for any harm their research causes
What does value-freedom refer to?
The ability of researchers to keep their own personal biases and opinions out of the research
Why do modern positivists argue that their own values are irrelevant to research?
Desire to appear scientific i.e. sociologists should remain morally neutral in order to establish the truth about people’s behaviour
What does Gouldner argue?
The social position of sociology
-By leaving their own values behind, sociologists made a ‘gentleman’s promise’ i.e. promised they wouldn’t rock the boat by criticising their paymasters
What do committed sociologists argue?
It is not possible or desirable for sociologists to keep their values out of research
What do Mydral and Gouldner argue about value-free sociology?
It is:
1. Impossible- either the sociologists own values, or the paymasters, will appear in their research
2. Undesirable- without values, sociologists are merely selling their own services
What question does Becker ask?
‘Whose side are we on?’
Whose viewpoint does Becker argue sociologists should support?
The ‘underdog’ e.g. criminals in order to reveal a previously ‘hidden’ side of society
What does the emphasis on identifying and emphasising with the powerless link to?
Favour qualitative research methods e.g. unstructured interviews
Who criticises Becker?
Gouldner- it is a romantic approach by only being concerned with those ‘on their backs’
What should sociology do instead?
Unmask the ways that the powerful maintain their position, supporting those ‘fighting back’ against the ruling class
Who are funding sources for sociological research?
Government departments, businesses and voluntary organisations
What influence does the funding body often have?
Dictates the direction of the research
What pressure may sociologists experience?
The pressure to submit research regardless of its quality
What values do different perspectives embody?
- Feminists= society is based on gender-inequality
- Functionalism= society is harmonious- value-consensus
- Marxists= conflict between the ruling and the working-class
What do these value influence?
The topics that different types of sociologists study, as well as what conclusions they draw
What does relativism argue?
Different groups, cultures and individuals have different views as to what’s true- therefore there is no objectuve truth
What do postmodernists reject?
The idea that any one account of the social world is superior- any perspective that claims to have the truth= meta-narrative
What is a criticism of relativism?
Self-defeating- why should we believe what postmodernists argue- aren’t they also a meta-narrative?
