Positivism (+Durkheim);

Question 1

Positivism, social facts

Answer 1

• believe science can explain the universe
• see society as shaping the individuals and believe ‘social facts’ shape individual action

Question 2

Research methods

Answer 2

Quantitive methods e.g. social surveys, structured questionnaires and offical statistics- good reliability and representativeness
- get an overview of society as a while and to uncover social trends

Question 3

Hypothetico-deductive methods
& Proof for falsiciation

Answer 3

-H-d m: approach to research that starts with a theory about how things work ( which is a statement) and derives hypothesis from it to then see how things actually work,
-hypothesis is tested by analysing data; theory either supported or disproven
- Proof for Falsiciation- for theories to be scientific they must be testable/ falsifiable

Question 4

Durkeim - research methods

Answer 4

• believed the primary means od researching society should be Competitive methods- compare groups & look for correlations or relations between 2/ more variables

Question 5

Durkeim - suicide study

Answer 5

He thought that od he could prove that suicide could be explained through social factors, than any action could be examined this way

Question 6

Durkeim- suicide study (analysis)

Answer 6

-Method: compare the incidence of various social factors with number of cases of suicide
- Durkeim was a close analysis of the available offical statistics, which showed that rates of suicide varied

Question 7

Rates of suicide

Answer 7

1) From one country to another- countries expereincing rapid social change had higher suicide rates
2) Between different social groups- divorced had higher suicide rates than the married
3) between different religious groups- protestants 📈 rates than catholics

Question 8

D-s.s ( findings)

Answer 8

• These rates were relatively stable over time for each group
  -they may have gotten up or down, but the rates remained stable relative to eachother
• if suicide was an individual matter➡️ coincidence if statistical patterns remained constant over a long period of time;
  entirely individual decisions➡️random patterns

Question 9

D-s.s( patterns)

Answer 9

Altruistic suicide( too much integratoon
⬆️
suicide