Theory and Methods- Sociology and Science Flashcards
How do scientists collect data?
Through experiments, observation and measurement
What does science value?
Objectivity
What are scientific statements based on?
Evidence which has been collected using systematic, logical methods
What do logical positivists believe?
That scientists go off in search of scientific laws
How does research start according to positivists?
The researcher observes something and decides it needs to be explained
How does the researcher explain the observed phenomenon according to positivists?
By thinking up a hypothesis
How is the hypothesis tested? (Positivists)
By experiments
What is verification?
If experiments agree with the hypothesis, then the hypothesis becomes a scientific law
What does it mean that scientific laws are universal?
They explain all phenomena which are similar to the one which was observed in the first place
What did Popper argue?
That experiments should try to prove the hypothesis wrong- ‘falsification’
Why did Popper believe that it’s not possible to know the absolute truth?
Because you can’t prove things are correct
Why has Popper’s view been criticised by later philosophers?
They point out that an experimental result might disagree with a hypothesis because of experimental error and silly mistakes
What did Kuhn believe?
That science uses an accepted body of knowledge to solve puzzles
What is a paradigm?
Scientists took a lot of assumptions about the world for granted and a paradigm is this assumed way of looking at the world
What are scientists constrained by?
The paradigm they take for granted
What is the scientific revolution?
Big leaps of scientific progress come about when evidence which doesn’t fit the paradigm builds up to the point where it can’t be ignored and scientists then come up with a new paradigm
Why did Popper say that some sociological concepts weren’t scientific?
As they can’t be proved wrong and sociology could only be a science if it made hypotheses which could be falsified
Why does Kuhn argue that sociology doesn’t count as a science?
Sociology doesn’t have a paradigm
What are the features of objective knowledge? (3 points)
- The same no matter what your point of view is
- Provides facts that can be easily verified and falsified
- Value-free and no bias
What are the features of subjective knowledge? (3 points)
- Depends on your point of view
- Give data that can’t be easily tested
- Requires interpretation
Is sociology more or less subjective than the physical sciences?
More
How does Lyotard view knowledge?
As something that people construct rather than discover
What do positivists think sociology should be and do?
Scientific and analyse social facts
How do positivists define social facts?
As things that can be directly observed and measured
What do positivists claim about social facts?
They are external to the individual and constrain their behaviour
What do positivists look for?
Correlations in data and cause and effect relationships
What methods do positivists use?
Quantitative methods like questionnaires and official statistics which are objective and reliable
What do interpretivists try to do?
To understand human behaviour from the point of view of the individual
What methods do interpretivists use?
Qualitative methods to discover the meanings, motives and reasons behind human behaviour and social interaction
What does Weber say?
That it’s important to use empathy to figure out why an individual is doing what they’re doing (Verstehen)
What do realists believe?
That sociology can be scientific
What is the study of closed systems?
Subjects like chemistry where the variables can be closely controlled and laboratory experiments can be done
What is the study of open systems?
Subjects such as meteorology where the variables are difficult or impossible to control so scientists can’t make very accurate predictions and can’t easily test them experimentally
What methods do realists use?
Qualitative and quantitative
What do realists argue about science?
Science isn’t fundamentally defined by the collection and recording of observable data
What do realists argue about sociology?
Sociology can’t be entirely value-free but researchers must try to collect and present data in a clear and neutral way
