Value free vs Value Laden Flashcards
What does value free mean?
Where the method or results or not influenced by the sociologist’s individual values
List 3 sociologists/perspectives who believe research SHOULD BE value free
Durkheim
Weber
The New Right
Why does Durkheim think sociology should be value free?
He thinks that as a positivist social research should be used to establish social facts - it was a science that could be used to study human behaviour.
Why does Weber think sociology should be value free to an extent?
Weber thinks that sociologists should avoid making personal value judgements during the conduction of the research (no leading questions) and we must make clear when releasing it what our values were. However, he believes it is inevitable that values will come into play when selecting topic and method.
Name a study that would support Weber’s ideas of sociology being transparent if not value free
Dobash and Dobash - made clear they were radical feminists - that’s why they chose to study domestic violence and use unstructured interviews
Why does the New Right believe social research should be value free?
Because Marsland says that there is a ‘left-wing’ bias in sociology which presents capitalism as exaggeratedly bad and diminishes the benefits.
List 4 sociologists/perspectives that believe sociology should not be value free
Gomm
Gouldner
Becker
Feminists
Who argued sociology should be value free because topics chosen/not chosen always have political implications?
Gomm - what counts as a social problem or not is shaped by powerful structures and ideologies so there is always reasons for the sociologist’s choice. To say you had no reasons for it is to evade responsibility to make a difference in society.
Why does Gouldner believe that sociology should be value free?
He believes that if sociologist’s values don’t influence the research then funding sources will - therefore value free sociologists have merely sold out to the system.
Give an example which supports Gouldner’s theory
Project Camelot - where the US Army told sociologists to study Latin American societies to predict and influence social developments - this was judged to be imperialistic (had to continue discreetly)
Which sociologist argued that sociologists should consciously choose the side of the oppressed in research?
Becker - he says that knowledge will always serve one group over another and the job of the sociologist is to choose a side - he recommends the disadvantaged as they have less of a voice
Give a study which supports Becker’s theory
Goffman - did a study in mental asylums and took the side of the patient to empathise - this allowed him to rationalise their behaviour which was being painted as insane (these people had no voice)
Why do feminists believe sociology isn’t value free?
Because they believe that ‘value-free’ is just a synonym for sex-blind and patriarchal - people should consciously carry out more studies on women and also women should do it in order to bring greater consciousness
