Value Free Sociology Flashcards
what is value freedom
The values and beliefs of the researcher do not enter the research process and affect the results. In other words, the researcher and her/his research are objective and FREE from subjective, personal beliefs, values and experiences.
view one- value free is possible
Appropriate methods can be used so that the personal, theoretical and political views of the researcher do not distort or influence the research. These methods can be relatively high in reliability and validity, can be quantified, replicated and open to critical evaluation by other social scientists e.g. social surveys on voting intentions
view one-value free sociology is desirable
Positivists suggest that sociology can and should be no different from studying the physical sciences - both physical and social sciences can be studied objectively. The ‘founding fathers’ wanted value freedom and felt that it was possible
view one- webers view on value free sociology
Weber had a different understanding of value freedom to Positivists – at some levels subjectivity would come into the research process, e.g. choice of topic, choice of method and how data is used but values must be kept out of the gathering data process
view two- sociology is inevitably value laden
there is no shared paradigm
It can be argued that value freedom is a myth even amongst the physical sciences. All scientists according to Kuhn are influenced by paradigms. A paradigm is a framework of knowledge through which people see the world or scientific ideas.
Sociologists are no different from others and have values and beliefs which influence what they do and think. Since we all have values which must influence what we do and say we should declare them so that others can judge what we say in the light of knowing what our values/biases are.
view two- sociology is inevitably value laden
sociologists have domain assumptions (gouldner)
Gouldner argues that we are all influenced by ‘domain assumptions’ i.e. basic beliefs and ideas about social life and the nature of society. Such assumptions affect the research methods chosen and the types of questions asked - hence Functionalists assume that society is based on value consensus and that existing institutions perform desirable functions. The domain assumptions of Marxists and Functionalists are very different. Such assumptions must have profound effects on the research process: the questions that are asked, for example.
Positivists, while claiming to be ‘objective’ by using particular methods in effect simply impose their definition of the social world in terms of the questions they ask and don’t ask. Interpretivist methods, which are less likely to contain preconceptions, are less subjective, biased and distorted. The most effective ‘value free’ methods are those such as observation which allow researchers to see the social world directly.
view two- sociology is inevitably value laden
humans are completely different ‘subject matter’ to research
For sociologists the issue is not just the values of the researcher, but also of the subject matter - this makes value freedom much more difficult in sociology. Respondents also have values, attitudes and beliefs which may influence how they act and behave while being the subject of research e.g. Hawthorne Effect (observation) or social desirability (interviews and questionnaires). Human behaviour is unpredictable, unlike scientific objects.
view two- sociology is inevitably value laden
funding bodies control which research gets picked
Sociologists need funding for their work and research. The values of those who allocate the research funds determine the direction of sociological enquiry. As research funding is increasingly controlled by government agencies and commercial organisations, some research is much less likely to be undertaken e.g. the impact of detention on asylum seekers; the effect of austerity on children; the relationship between Brexit and hate-crime rates. So, research may be based on what will get funding rather than what needs to be researched.
view two- sociology is inevitably value laden
postmodernists claim that reasearch comes from only one viewpoint in many
Postmodernists criticise the view that rational, scientific thinking supported by quantifiable evidence is superior to any other way of understanding the social world. They argue that it is impossible to produce any objective, value free knowledge - knowledge/facts are simply the viewpoint of one particular social group.
