Sociology and Science Flashcards
CAN and SHOULD be a science: Positivists
*Positivists want sociology to be perceived the same as natural science. gain true, objective knowledge similar to sciences
*allows sociologists to use objective info to solve social problems
*Durkheim study - official stats comparing suicide stats
LINK - we can adopt the same scientific principals to sociology in order to establish cause and effect relationships
CAN and SHOULD be a science: Objectivity
•value objectivity
•sociologists should be value free - not impose their values in study
•not clouded by subjective opinions - higher validity
•validity decreased when sociologists impose own values - researcher bias and opinion ruins it
LINK - to gain valid results, research should and can be value free and objective
CAN and SHOULD be a science: Paradigms Shift
•science goes through a paradigm shift so does sociology
•in the past functionalists and marxists agreed we are in a modern society but postmodernism disagrees and believes we have moved away from modern society - paradigm shift
LINK - very rare it can occur in sociology
CAN and SHOULD be a science: Some sociology can be falsified
•some theory can be put to test and proven wrong by others
•e.g. New Right belief single parent families lead to a life of crime - falsified
•Feminism and Left Realists criticise New Right for assumption and have proved Murray wrong
LINK - sociologists have disproved the New Right view
CANNOT and SHOULD NOT be a science: Interpretivists
*scientific RMs are inappropriate to study society - society cannot be put in a lab
*need to gain verstehen in sociological research - qualitative data is better
*Douglas uses qualitative methods when studying suicide stats - issues like suicide are complex and need to be studied sensitively which allows the researcher to gain in-depth data and verstehen
LINK - in-depth data cannot be gained using scientific positivist methods
CANNOT and SHOULD NOT be a science: Committed sociology
*Marxist Gouldner - sociologists should take sides with the ‘underdogs’ of society like in Marxists ideas the WC
*Feminists take a similar stance by saying sociologists should take the side of women, giving them a voice in the patriarchal society - empathising with participants allowing verstehen
LINK - sociologists must include their values into their research to make a difference to society whereas science encourages objectivity
CANNOT and SHOULD NOT be a science: Paradigms
*sociology does not have a paradigm as competing theorists exist like the New Right do not agree with Feminists
LINK - no paradigm, sociological theories are not unified
CANNOT and SHOULD NOT be a science: Falsification
*sociological theories cannot be put to the test thus cannot be falsified
*Marx predicts a revolution will occur which leads to a classless society, but hasn’t happened because of false class consciousness of the proletariat. If a revolution happens then Marx is correct, if a revolution doesn’t happen Marx is still correct
LINK - it is difficult to disprove sociological arguements
