Theory and methods ET

Question 1

is sociology value free

Answer 1

weber value freedom is not possible - essential in choosing what to research assessing effects and interpretation need them except for data collection
Derek phillips: data collection is a social process so bias is inevitable. e.g questionnaire imposition problem

sociology shouldnt be value free if possible: paymasters values and undesirable: valueless research can’t better society
gomm; gov funding influences topic

interpretivists, cant and shouldnt try to be VF because we need it to understand social actors reasoning- we use common sense. can’t be impartial as we all have our own thoughts. can’t treat people as scientific matter. different phenomena requires a diff outlook

4. functionalism can and should be value free: to be taken seriously and have an impact on policy. value research may lead to an unfair and biased society.
   A03: just a way to raise the credibility of sociology, not to get the best research.

positivism - have a desire to be scientific which is neutral / objective so sociologists should be too as their job is just to uncover how the social system works ; should be value free as it contaminates research if not. should be value free at all stages. possible by separating facts from values.
A03: questionable as even Durkheim had reasons for his topics: lost a close friend to suicide

Question 2

Evaluate the view that sociology can and should be a science

Answer 2

1. positivism and science. Compte science of a society. social facts. durkeim : inductive reasoning and verificationism
2. interpretivism. human actions dont have causal explanations as they’re based on social across meanings. interactionism, phenomenology (garfnikel) and ethnomethodology
3. karl popper how science grows.
   socio can be scientific but it is not. rejects vericationism - fallacy of induction, embraces falsificationsim
4. kuhn; scientific paradigm
   its not scientific because theres no consensus paradigm.filled w competing persectives e.g Conflict vs Consensus
5. realism science and sociology ; both natural and social sciences study unobservable phenomena by observing its effects e.g patriarchy vs black hole

Question 3

Evaluate the relationship between sociology and social policy

Answer 3

1. functionalism/positivism - sociologists role: provide state w/ objective info, investigate social problems. favour ‘piecemeal social engineering policies’ - one issue at a time.
   A03. marx- PSE can’t create major social change e.g poverty
2. marxism - sociologists shouldn’t work w gov. identify w the underdog and use research to draw attention to injustice and assist in the revolution
   e.g health and safety legislation shows the caring face of capitalism
   A03: social democrats believe socio research CAN cause change e.g poverty research impacts policy

3.Social democrat: Townsend: social research should make specific recs based on research so that social policy can eradicate social problems. e.g EMA to bridge inequality
A03: Marx believes capitalism must be overthrown before social policy can make a difference e.g capitalist state won’t spend to help w/c

4. The new right: create alt policies that will restore the responsibility that the welfare state has taken away to reduce peoples reliance on it e.g zero tolerance crime policies
   A03: criticised for not using sociological studies but being politically biased think tanks

Question 4

Evaluate the usefulness of marxist approaches in understanding society

Answer 4

1. Althusser structuralist marxism - social structures shape people, state performs political and ideological functions for capitalism: ISA + RSA
   A03 - Althusser discourages political activism by claiming we can’t change society
2. Humanistic neo marxism Gramsci - R/c maintain position through hegemony and winning consent. revolution is when counter hegemonic block led by organic intellectuals
   A03 - workers may see through coercion and consent but feel forced to abide
3. Marx 3 features of capitalism
4. proletariat are legally free wage slaves
5. competition between capitalists means means of production is owned by a few
6. proletariat are under appreciated
   these all create the divide
   A03: Marx ignores other conflicts between gender and ethnicity
7. Economic determinism- economic base of capitalism determines the superstructure. institutions like family and religion perform a role for capitalism
   A03: weber argues marxism ignores the role of ideas in social change e.g calvinism creating capitalism

Question 5

Evaluate the usefulness of feminist approaches in understanding society

Answer 5

1. Liberal feminism - Laws and policies create equality e.g sex discrimination. Men and women can perform both roles. Gender neutral socialising and policy creates equality
   A03- considered naive, believe obstacles to freedom are just prejudices and not deep seated structures oppressing women
2. Radical feminism -The personal is political as oppression occurs in public and private. Compulsory heterosexuality. solutions: separatism, political lesbianism, consciousness raising
   A03 - They neglect women on men or women on women violence
3. Marxist: women’s oppression is capitalism , patriarchy was created by the bourgeoisie. women are exploited in 4 ways: cheap labour, reserve army, TOS, reproduce the labour force
   A03: Doesn’t explain how women are oppressed in non capitalist societies
4. difference feminism : other feminists are essentialist e.g black women and the family go against their assumptions. other feminists = lens of white m/c women
   A03: they ignore the fact that some female experiences are universal

Question 6

Evaluate the usefulness of social action theories in explaining behaviour

Answer 6

1. symbolic interactionsim- social meanings develop through interactions. Mead: we develop our sense of self by taking on the role of the other. e.g teachers being observed in the classroom. Blumer: meanings aren’t fixed but negotiated through social interaction. behaviours depend on context e.g a wink
   A03: can’t explain why some groups have power to define meanings over others
2. Weber social action theory: tries to understand motivation of behaviour. 4 types of social action: instrumental rational, value rational, traditional and affective. behaviour isn’t purely rational could simple B emotions at the time or habitual e.g studying could be habitual or instrumental
   A03: schultz: weber’s view of action Is too individualistic, can’t explain the shared nature of meanings
3. Labelling theory: explains how people come to be seen as deviant.
   Becker: deviance is not the act itself but the reaction to the act - no act…
   act can only be labelled us such by those in power on powerless (moral entrepreneurs ) social construct.
   A03: labelling theory is deterministic, suggests behaviour is governed by labels but we can refuse SFP
4. Goffmans dramaturgical theory: uses metaphor of theatre to explain how people present themselves. Impression management depending on different settings. F.stage: manipulate appearance so people perceive an idealised version. B.stage: drop the front and be our relaxed and true selves. social life is fluid and performative: people are actors on a social stage e.g teachers
   A03: reduces all behaviour to a performance

Question 7

Evaluate the usefulness of functionalist approaches in understanding society

Answer 7

1. Parsons social system(organic analogy): institutions and body organs perform diff roles keeping us alive e.g family primary socialisation and education secondary- trasmit value consensus. explains existence of diff institutions and their role
   A03: Merton criticises universal functionalism, not all functions are positive e.g education
2. Parsons social change/ FP
   societies gradually evolve from simple to complex systems which increase structural differentiation.
   Functional prerequisites for society survival: goal attainment, adaptation latency, integration e.g integration promotes social solidarity.
   AO3: Marxists argue society isn’t functional due to conflict between W/C and r/c
3. Durkheim social solidarity: when people feel like they’re part of society they are more likely to conform to its norms e.g education: teach shared heritage(history) so they follow shared (british) values
   A03: social solidarity doesn’t exist, its based on the norms and values to the ruling class.
4. Merton’s 3 internal critiques.
5. Indispensability is an untested claim. merton proposes functional alternatives e.g any family can primary socialise.
6. functional unity doesn’t exist in modern society which has many distantly related parts. merton proposed functional autonomy
   3.universal functionalism: some things are functional for some groups and dysfunctional for others e.g crime

Question 8

evaluate the view that social action approaches are more useful than structural approaches in understanding society (20 Marks)

Answer 8

1. Better way to understand/research society?
   STRUCT: macro, large scale, quant methods= understand how systems shape individuals
   SAT: micro, small scale, qual methods. understand how small scale interactions create reality.
   e.g capitalism and religion direction of cause and effect
2. What determines behaviour: free will vs institutions?
   STRUCT: institution shapes individual through socialisation.
   human behaviour is predictable and patterned e.g labelling = SFP
   SAT: people can choose behaviour despite ext forces e.g law. behaviour is unpredictable w/ all diff meaning.
   e.g L2L - lads reject the structure
3. Which theory offers a better explanation of inequality?
   STRUCT: marx and fem: inequality is deep rooted in societal institutions
   SAT: inequality is created through actions of an individual e.g labelling
   e.g teacher racism vs institutional
4. Which theory offers a better explanation of how social order is maintained?
   STRUCT: socialisation from institutions can explain social control. E.g function: social solidarity
   marxism: RSA and ISA
   SAT: by taking on the role of the other and common sense we maintain social order

Question 9

Evaluate the view that society today should be described as postmodern

Answer 9

1. Globalisation and postmodernism. world is interconnected DT Tech e.g internet, satelite. Beck global risk society - risk is manufactured not natural - crime.
   A03: ignores how globalisation magnifies inequality e.g muslim women in France

2.Marxist theory of PM. Pm arose from capitalist crisis in 1970s (recession). new way of profit = tech. Harvey describes this as flexible accumulation e.g flexible production and labour and global media maintains demand for products= overconsumption and insecurity.
A03: Harvey overstates flexibility, lots of workers still in rigid exploitative conditions

3.Baudrillard: Simulacra: ‘false reality’embedded into film +ads
e.g tabloid newspapers about fictitious soap characters. Media is the reason can’t tell between real/fake e.g insta shows luxury but its ai. no distinction between real and manufactured needs
A03: Philo and Miller: media isn’t copies of copies, reflects real world relationships.distorted reflection of real issues

4.Culture and identity are different. Diversity= choice in creating identity. Media = hyper reality w/ diff values. Society = no value consensus. Identity is destabilised so we make own through lifestyles media offers.
we don’t have power to improve society
A03: PM are wrong to assume people can distinguish between reality and media image

Question 10

evaluate the interpretivist claim that qualitative research methods are the most appropriate ones for the study of society.

Answer 10

1. Interpretivism and qualitative methods. reject objective social reality, it’s constructed with our actions. Qual data means we can uncover the social actors meaning and have a subjective understanding
   A03: Positivists say quant is better as they can uncover a causal relationship behind social facts
2. weber verstehen : unstructured interviews achieve this through insight into social actors meaning. produces rich personal data that’s high in validity.
   A03: positivists claim the detached objective nature of quant methods means its more suitable for studying society

3.Micro scale research: focusing on small groups meanings and motivations to avoid generalising. participant observation - researcher immerses themself to understand the group from within - naturalistic e.g Patrick : a Glasgow gang observed.
A03: however its time consuming and hard to replicate

4. Grounded theory: Glaser and straus reject idea that research should start with a fixed hypothesis tested by collecting data. GT: we should modify and build hypothesis during the research as we learn more apt the research.e.g. unstructured interviews allow us to persue line of enquiry as and when they pop up to modify the subject or topic of interest.
   A03: grounded theory is complimentary of interpretivism as we don’t impose our beliefs bt allow the social actor to reveal their meanings.