Sociology should be value free Flashcards
What are the four reasons why sociology should be value free?
Early positivists
Modern positivists
Positivist (durkheim)
Method (experiment)
Early positivists
Early positivists believed in the enlightenment project this was that science could discover factual knowledge which could be used to improve society
Sociology is the science of society, and it is the job of sociology to discover the truth about how society works
Comte argues that gives sociologists a crucial role, and that they will be able to say objectively, and with scientific certainty what was best for society
Modern positivists
Positivists in the 20th century, believe that their own values were irrelevant to the research
Sociologist should remain morally neutral as their job is to establish the truth about peoples behaviour, not judge it
The researcher was not getting paid to implement their views in the research
They believe that sociology should be value free, because this gives a subject purpose and allows society to grow
Positivist ( Dürkheim)
Deckham used official statistics to study suicide. He wanted to establish reasons for suicide by using statistics.
By using this method, he was able to leave his opinions and thoughts out of the process he had been objective
Objectivity is key as researchers should not taint the research process by imposing their values as this will result in data that is low in validity and bias
Methods (experiments)
Sociologist should be objective when conducting research methods
Experiments are an example of such methods and often used by positivists
Milgram used a lab experiment to study obedience The data he gathered was value free as there was no research, bias, or involvement within the study.
Milgram set up the experiment and measure the effects of having an authority figure on obedience
researcher remained detached and objective in experiments
