LECTURE 1.

7
APPROACHES TO SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH

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 • TO INTRODUCE THE BASICS OF
SOCIAL RESEARCH
AIMS OF • TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN
COMMON SENSE AND SCIENTIFIC
THE RESEARCH

LECTURE • TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN

POSITIVISTS AND HUMANISTS
TRADITIONS OF RESEARCH

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 • 1ST REQUIREMENT: SOCIOLOGICAL
GROUNDING LEADING TO
SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
• 2ND REQUIREMENT: CRITICAL
SOCIOLOGICAL QUESTIONING
BASICS OF • SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH CAN BE
SOCIOLOGICA GROUPED INTO THREE GROUPS
L • 1. THEORETICAL/ EPISTEMOLOGICAL
INVESTIGATIO QUESTIONS
N • 2. TECHNICAL QUESTIONS
• 3. ETHICAL/POLITICAL AND POLICY
QUESTIONS

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 • COMMON SENSE DOES HOLD TRUE
SOMETIMES
• SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE SOMETIMES
COMMON PROVES COMMON SENSE WRONG
• SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE RESTS ON
SENSE VS EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE, (INFORMATION
WE CAN VERIFY WITH OUR OWN
SCIENTIFI SENSES)

C • DEFINE COMMON SENSE AND GIVE

EXAMPLES
EVIDENCE • DEFINE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE AND
GIVE EXAMPLES
• PHILOSOPHERS STILL DON’T AGREE
ON THE CONCEPT OF SCIENCE

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 • A BRANCH OF PHILOSOPHY THAT
INVESTIGATES THE NATURE OF
EPISTEMOLOG KNOWLEDGE AND TRUTH
Y • EPISTEMOLOGICAL ORIENTATION
DETERMINES WHAT KIND OF TRUTH
YOU WILL END UP WITH

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 • POSITIVISM IS A LOGICAL SYSTEM
THAT BASES KNOWLEDGE ON DIRECT,
SYSTEMATIC OBSERVATION
POSITIVIST • HUMANISM OR INTERPRETIVISM
VS INSISTS THAT STUDYING HUMAN
WORLD IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM
HUMANIST STUDYING BIOLOGICAL, PHYSICAL
AND MATERIAL WORLD
TRADITION • THE FOCUS IS ON THE HUMAN AND
S SYMBOLIC, THEREFORE THIS
PRODUCES A DIFFERENT KIND OF
SCIENCE, CALLED SOCIAL SCIENCE. IT
SEEKS TO UNDERSTAND MEANINGS

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 • THE IDEAL OF OBJECTIVITY, A STATE
OF PERSONAL NEUTRALITY IN
CONDUCTING RESEARCH
• PERSONAL VALUES POSE A
CHALLENGE TO SCIENTIFIC
RESEARCH

POSITIVIST • SPECIFIC SCIENTIFIC PROCEDURES

HAVE TO BE ADHERED TO IN ORDER
INVESTIGATIO NOT TO BIAS THE RESULTS
N • COMPLETE IMPARTIALITY IS
IMPOSSIBLE TO ACHIEVE. A GOOD
EXAMPLE IS HOW ALL RESEARCH
QUESTIONS/PROJECTS WE CHOOSE TO
WORK ON ARE FROM PERSONAL
INTEREST

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 • SCIENTISTS TRY TO CULTIVATE
DETACHMENT AND FOLLOW SPECIFIC
METHODS TO LESSEN CHANCES OF
CONSCIOUS OR UNCONSCIOUS BIASES
DISTORTING THEIR WORK
• SCIENTISTS SHOULD IDENTIFY AND
REPORT THEIR PERSONAL LEANING TO
POSITIVIST HELP THE READER EVALUATE THEIR
INVESTIGATIO CONCLUSIONS IN THE PROPER
CONTEXT
N CONT.
• MAX WEBER ENCOURAGED THAT
ALTHOUGH RESEARCH TOPICS CAN BE
VALUE-RELEVANT, THEY SHOULD BE
VALUE-FREE
• WEBER BELIEVED DETACHMENT IS
WHAT SETS SCIENCE APART FROM
POLITICS
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 • POLITICIANS ARE COMMITTED TO A
PARTICULAR OUTCOME WHILE
SCIENTIST MAINTAIN AN OPEN-MINDED
READINESS
• REPLICATION IS ONE STRATEGY FOR
LIMITING DISTORTION
• THIS IS REPEATING OF RESEARCH BY
POSITIVIST OTHER INVESTIGATORS
INVESTIGATIO • ATTAINING THE SAME RESULTS AFTER
N CONT. REPEATING A STUDY ALLOWS
RESEARCHERS TO GAIN CONFIDENCE IN
THEIR WORK
• SCIENCE OFFERS AN APPROACH TO
KNOWLEDGE THAT IS SELF-
CORRECTING- ALLOWS RESEARCHERS
TO OVERCOME THEIR OWN BIASES AND
ACHIEVE GREATER UNDERSTANDING

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 • HUMAN BEHAVIOUR IS TOO COMPLEX
FOR SCIENTISTS TO PREDICT
PRECISELY AN INDIVIDUAL’S ACTIONS
• BECAUSE HUMANS RESPOND TO THEIR
SURROUNDINGS, THE MERE PRESENCE
OF A RESEARCHER MAY AFFECT THE
POSITIVIST BAHAVIOUR BEING STUDIES
• SOCIAL PATTERNS CHANGE
LIMITATION CONSTANTLY
S • BEING VALUE-FREE CAN BE DIFFICULT
BECAUSE RESEARCHERS ARE MOSTLY
PART OF THE SOCIAL WORLD THEY
ARE STUDYING
• HUMAN BEINGS ARE SYMBOLIC,
SUBJECTIVE AND CREATIVE
CREATURES

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INTERPRETIVIST INVESTIGATION

• BEING SUBJECTIVE OR BIAS IS MOSTLY SEEN AS PROBLEMATIC

BUT THERE IS A GOOD SIDE TO IT
• SCIENCE IS LIKE A SERIES OF RULES THAT GUIDE RESEARCH-
HUMAN IMAGINATION IS ALSO IMPORTANT IN THIS PROCESS
• SCIENCE CANNOT ACCOUNT FOR THE VAST AND COMPLEX
RANGE OF HUMAN MOTIVATIONS AND FEELINGS I.E. GREED,
LOVE
• SCIENTIFIC DATA DOES NOT SPEAK FOR ITSELF, IT ALWAYS NEEDS
TO BE INTERPRETED- CREATING MEANING FROM OBSERVATIONS

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 • SOCIOLOGISTS TRY TO MAKE
SOCIOLOGY A MORE HUMANIST
DISCIPLINE CONCERNED WITH
UNDERSTANDING
• 4 CRITERIA
INTERPRETIVIST • MUST PAY TRIBUTE TO HUMAN
INVESTIGATION SUBJECTIVITY AND CREATIVITY
CONT. • MUST DEAL WITH CONCRETE
• MUST SHOW A NATURALISTIC
INTIMATE FAMILIARITY WITH SUCH
ABSTRACTIONS
• MUST HAVE SELF-AWARENESS OF
MORAL AND POLITICAL ROLE

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HUMANIST VS POSITIVIST

Towards the humanities Towards the sciences

Foci Unique General

Human-centred Structure-centred
Subjective, meaning, feelings, experience Objective, things, events, facts

Epistemology Phenomenalist Realist

Relational/relativist Absolutist/essentialist
Perspectivist Logical positivist

Task Interpret, understand Casual explanation

Describe, observe Measure
Appreciate Theorise

Style Soft, warm Hard, cold

Imaginative Systematic
Personal research Large-scale research

Theory Inductive and grounded Deductive and abstract

Storytelling Operationalism
Values Ethically and politically committed Ethically and politically neutral

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 • MACIONIS JJ & K PLUMMER (2012)
SOCIOLOGY: A GLOBAL
INTRODUCTION. (EDS.) PEARSON
READING EDUCATION LIMITED, ENGLAND. PP
60-66
LIST • MACIONIS JJ (1997) (EDS.) SOCIOLOGY.
PRENTICE-HALL INTERNATIONAL,
INC. NEW JERSEY. PP 29-59

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