positivism vs interpretivism Flashcards
what are examples of theoretical perspectives in sociology?
Functionalism, Marxism, Feminism, Interactionism, Postmodernism
they all…
disagree with each other about what society is like
what are examples of methodological perspectives in sociology?
Positivism, Interpretivism
these two…
disagree about the correct way to research society
what does positivism argue?
sociology is a science and society and human behaviour can be studied using the same methods natural sciences.
scientists (and sociologists) aim their research on what?
facts,objectivity,reliability,
quantitative data
what is an example of positivist research?
Durkheim’s research into suicide, he used inductive reasoning (collected data, analysed it, developed a theory)
positivists are therefore deterministic in…
their views of human behaviour, they argue humans have very little choice about how they behave as external forces govern human behaviour, people react to stimuli in the environment and behave in a predictable and consistent way
what does interpetivism argue?
sociology is not a science as
human behaviour is very different from that of the natural world because, unlike natural phenomena, people possess consciousness and free will.
Therefore, scientific approaches are inappropriate for researching human behaviour.
what did Max Weber argue?
in order to understand human behaviour , sociologists must use the concept of verstehen Only by feeling/thinking what they feel/think can we truly understand their behaviour.
interpretivists prefer…
-to gain subjective understanding of the meanings individuals attach to their actions.
-qualitative data which will allow us to interpret the meanings people attach to their actions.
- participant observations, unstructured interviews and personal documents. These methods produce valid data. achieve verstehen – they will fully understand why people behave the way they do.
How would Interpretivists respond to Durkheim’s research into suicide?
-Interpretivists would say that plenty of socially isolated people can have active lives , could travel, have hobbies, etc- which makes them enjoy life even though they are socially isolated. -so we can’t just look at the stats about a person and say they committed suicide because they were unmarried, childless, older.
-Interpretivists would say that to understand why a person committed suicide we have to find out more detailed information about the person’s life – from their friends/neighbours/family but also personal diaries, medical records, etc. Only then can we really know the reason for their suicide.
-Therefore, only qualitative methods are suitable for researching human behaviour.
what does Douglas argue?
-to understand suicide we must first understand how the deceased defined their action.
-suicide statistics are social constructs e created by all the concerned parties after a person dies .
- if the deceased was well integrated into a social group, the family and friends may find it difficult to accept the possibility of suicide and may even remove proof of suicide such as a suicide note. Without the suicide note, the coroner may be reluctant to reach a verdict of suicide and record the death as an accident or record an open verdict.
Therefore, we can never know the true extent or reasons for suicide.
what does Douglas favour?
qualitative methods such as case studies of each suicide.
