Positivism vs Interpretivism

Question 1

Positivism Strengths

Answer 1

• relies on quantitative data
• Considered to be objective
• follows a well-defined structure - less errors are made
• Has a clear theoretical focus - Researcher has full control

Question 2

Positivism Strengths - Quantitative

Answer 2

Positivism relies on quantitative data which is more ‘scientific’ in its methods - makes it more trustworthy and reliable.

It provides objective info that researchers can use to make assumptions

Question 3

Positivism Strengths - Structure

Answer 3

Positivist research follows a well-defined structure during studies & discussions.

more laws & rules = less errors made

Question 4

Positivist Strengths - Theoretical focus

Answer 4

Positivist research has a clear theoretical focus as the researcher has full control (due to its quantitative and limited data collection).

This avoids open-ended research problems whose future is dependent upon the work of respondents.

Question 5

Positivist Weaknesses

Answer 5

• Inflexibility
• Human behaviour
• No rapport
• Unrealistic

Question 6

Positivist Weakness - Human Behaviour

Answer 6

Positivists believe that objective truths and inferences can be discovered if the researcher remains objective & disregards their emotions.

HOWEVER

Human behaviour naturally comes with emotions.

There is no garuntee that researchers can remain entirely objective throughout the research process - no matter how much positivists encourage it

Question 7

Positivist Weakness - Inflexibility

Answer 7

Belief that everything can be measured & calculated = inflexible

See things as they are & disregard unexplained phenomena - this eliminates lateral thinking (the ability to uncover answers creatively & indirectly finding out ways to solve a problem)

Question 8

Positivist Weaknesses - No Rapport

Answer 8

Due to the scientific and detached way of conducting research, positivists do not build a rapport with their subjects.

Limits validity - do not feel comfortable enough to be completely honest & open - may not hear something that they would have if they treated their subjects as less of a science experiment and more like human beings.

Question 9

Positivist Weakness - Unrealistic

Answer 9

Its search for the ideal and perfect methodology and analysis are too unrealistic when set beside the complexity of social phenomena.

Social phenomena & human behaviour is far too complex to be reduced down to one variable and investigated like a science project.

There are a variety of factors affecting human behaviour that does not affect substances investigated in the natural sciences:
- Laws and social policies
- Socialisation
- Socio-economic background
- personal motivations
- Personality
- etc

Question 10

Interpretivist Strengths

Answer 10

• High in Validity
• Qualitative data
• Achieves verstehen
• Subjective
• Allows for complexity and contextual factors

Question 11

Interpretivist Strengths - Valid

Answer 11

Responses = valid

The individual matters in the research and often builds a rapport with the researcher

So they feel comfortable enough to be open & honest.

Therefore they give a good reflection of how people are truly thinking & feeling, often providing an accurate picture of what the researcher intended to investigate.

Question 12

Interpretivist Strenghts - Qualitative

Answer 12

Emphasise importance of qualitative data

Increases validity

Researchers get a true reflection of what it is they are studying.

Question 13

Interpretivist Strengths - Verstehen

Answer 13

Researchers build a rapport with their subjects to gain verstehen

This provides them with accurate & true qualitative data

Researcher can make valid and evidenced assumptions/conclusions about their research topic as they have a deep understanding of it.

Question 14

Interpretivist Strengths - Subjective

Answer 14

Researchers will only research into topics they believe to be worthy or a problem that needs solving.

Researchers can become immersed in the research and determined to uncover the truth/answers etc - also means they will ensure it gets done properly and accurately as they care about it.

Allows researchers to build a good rapport with informants

Can use their own personal experiences and thoughts & feelings to uncover more truths/layers/meanings etc

Question 15

Interpretivist Strengths - Complexity and contextual factors

Answer 15

The manner of avoiding research like a scientific study and the need to control all variables allows the research to be carried out as if it were in the natural world and takes into account all aspects of that which are removed during positivist research.

take into consideration the complexity of social phenomena and include it in their research.

Question 16

Interpretivist Weaknesses

Answer 16

• Not always generalisable
• Not always representative
• Low reliability
• Researcher imposition (bias)
• Time consuming

Question 17

Interpretivist Weaknesses - Generalisable

Answer 17

Qualitative research is conducted on a particular set of population that has their own unique demographic, psychological, sociological and cultural characteristics - findings cannot be applied to those who do not share these characteristics

Qualitative research = time consuming
so often uses small sample sizes - not generalisable to larger population

HOWEVER

Interpretivist, qualiotative research seeks to investigate a specific social phenomena and so does not aim to be generalisable

BUT

can be argued that this is pointless - it doesn’t help anyone to solve anything or provide any life changing information - it’s just interesting

Question 18

Interpretivist Weaknesses - Representative

Answer 18

Interpretivist research is very time consuming as the researchers aim to gather verstehen.

They spend a lot of time building a rapport with participants and getting as much detail from them as possible (EG through open interviews which can last for as long as the participant keeps talking)

this means that researchers often have small sample size and therefore their research is not representative of a larger population.

Interpretivist research also focuses on one singular aspect of social phenomena

therefore their sample usually consists of people with similar socio-economic backgrounds, ethnicities, social standing, occupations, age etc

As a result their already small sample size is not representative of a wider society - cannot be generalisable.

HOWEVER, can be argued that this is done purposefully - to research this singular aspect of social phenomena.

Question 19

Interpretivist Weaknesses - Reliability

Answer 19

Low reliability

Interpretivist research methods depend on personal relationships established between the responder and the researcher - difficult for other researchers to repeat the research & check for reliability.

Question 20

Interpretivist Weaknesses - Bias

Answer 20

Interpretivists allow values to influence research.

This allows for researcher imposition.

Positivists argue that this will enable researcher to manipulate the study into providing them with the data they want.

This means that research = not reliable or even very valid - researcher paints a picture of what they want not a true reflection of reality

Question 21

Interpretivist Weakness - Time

Answer 21

interpretivist researchers want to gain verstehen through qualitative research methods

requires building rapport = takes time

Go into detail

interviewers/researchers/observers = £££
ust be able to gather this verstehen through pushing participants to provide detail and be honest without feeling pressured or uncomfortable

Question 22

Durkheim’s study of Suicide

Answer 22

EG of Positivist research

study to find out what social forces or structures affected suicide rates..

Used the scientific method
Studied common factors among those who committed suicide

Close analysis of official statistics:
- countries experiencing rapid social change had higher suicide rates
- divorced had higher rates than the married
- protestants had higher rates than catholics

These patterns remained relatively stable over a long period of time - if suicide was a personal decision with no influence from social factors then these patterns would be random

Conclusion = suicide rates increase when there is too little or too much social regulation and social integration.

Social regulation = the extent to which there are clear norms & values in society

social integration = the extent to which people belong in society

Completed this study to prove that such an emotional and personal topic could be studied in a scientific manner - therefore any topic could be researched in a scientific way.

Question 23

Willis - Learning to Labour

Answer 23

EG of interpretivist research

Aimed to uncover why w/c boys got w/c jobs

ethnographic, longitudinal study of 12 w/c ‘lads’

Total of 18 months observing them in school and then followed them for a further 6 months while they were in work.

Wide range of qualitative methodology including:
- interviews
- group discussions
- participant observation
to understand the participants actions from their point of view.

Participant observation allowed Willis to immerse himself into the social setting of the lads and gave him the opportunity to ask them (often open) questions about their behaviour that day or the night before, encouraging them to explain themselves in their own words

Question 24

Practical Issues with Learning to Labour

Answer 24

Time consuming - 2 years of research + 2 years of writing results

low reliability - difficult to repeat experiment nowadays as it is harder to gain access into schools (need a gatekeeper)

Funding - would not be given nowadays due to the time taken and sample size

Question 25

Ethical issues with Learning to Labour

Answer 25

Willis witnessed the lads getting into fights, their racism & homophobia, as well as them vandalising school property and did nothing about it.

Confidentiality - with such a small sample size it would have been easy for those who knew them to guess which lads Willis was focusing on.

HOWEVER

An ethical strength = gives the lads a voice
these are lads who are normally ‘talked about’ as problems and don’t effectively have a voice.

Question 26

Theoretical Issues with Learning to Labour

Answer 26

Bias - Willis’ interpretation of the data may undermine the validty of the research - he may highlight aspects of the masses amounts of data that support his biased opinion of the boys.

Obviously a researcher - some argue that Willis’ (being an adult male) was obviously a researcher and therefore the boys may have acted up
HOWEVER
Willis counters this by saying that it is impossible to put on an act for 2 years, at some point they must relax and be themselves.

Representativeness is poor - sample size is only 12 white boys

Reliability is low - very difficult to repeat study for practical reasons (positivists argue this is bad)

STRENGTH = validity is widely regarded as excellent due to the unstructured, open-ended nature of the research allowing Willis to sensitively push the lads into giving in-depth explanations of their worldview

Question 27

Interpretivist methodologies

Answer 27

• unstructured interviews
• Personal documents
• participant observation

Question 28

Positivist methodologies

Answer 28

• Surveys
• Official statistics
• Cross national comparisons