Positivists and Interpretivists arguements Flashcards
features of Positivists in research methods
- Brought about by Durkheim and Conte
- They argue that sociology should use the same methods as natural sciences.
- Research in sociology should focus on only measurable aspects. They argue that doing this makes research to be objective and value free
- They prefer quantitative methods
-Value free approach
How do positivists want their research to be like
Generalisable , representative and reliable
What is value freedom
The ability of researchers to prevent their own values (personal/political/religious values) from influencing their research
features of interpretivists approach in research methods
- They believe human behavior is influenced by the meanings people attach to their actions
- They argue that sociology should use qualitative methods
-They like participating in research as it gives them a deeper insight into behaviour
-its subjective
How do interpretivists want their research to be like
valid , respondent led and in depth
What research methods do interpretivists prefer
they prefer qualitative methods
participant observation , unstructured interviews , personal documents , case studies
Advantages of positivist approach to research
1) High in reliability as it focuses on objective measurements that can be replicated
2) It uses large samples so findings can be generalised
Disadvantages of positivist approach
1)Hard to interpret data without context or reasoning behind social fact
Advantages of interpretivist approach
-It produces data thats high in validity
-It produces complex research e.g cross cultural studies that can be studied in a lot of detail.
Disadvantages of interpretivist approach
-It can only be done with small samples so the findings cannot be generalised to the wider population
-low in reliability as the research cannot be replicated
-Requires a lot of time and data
