What is Comte’s view?
AO1
- Sociology is ‘the queen of the sciences’
- It is possible and desirable to use scientific methods to understand human behaviour
- This enables us to gain true, objective data that mirrors that of the sciences
- We gain scientific, sociological conclusions on social facts
What is Durkheim’s view?
AO2
- Science generates patterns through tests and measures which allows us to identify trends and draw scientific conclusions - sociologists do this too
- Sociologists draw conclusions through inductive reasoning and careful observation and get results through verification
- e.g. he verified patterns in his study of suicide - observed 4 reasons for suicide: anomic, fatalistic, altruistic, egoistic
Why does Popper think sociology isn’t a science?
AO1/3
- Fallacy of induction: we can never prove something true as all it takes is one thing to prove the whole theory wrong. Sociology is too dependent on observation e.g. if we observed a million white swans we could conclude that all swans are white, but it would take just one black swan to disprove this theory. You can never prove a theory true through observation alone as they lack reliability
- Falsificationism: science is the opposite of verification - scientific statement can be falsified. A good theory must: be a bold statement we can attempt to disprove in multiple situations, and withstand attempts to be disproved e.g. water boiling at 100 degrees. Sociological concepts are difficult to test and can’t be falsified e.g. false class consciousness is a bold statement but it can’t be disproven - you can only test to find more evidence of it
- Truth: “every scientific theory isn’t necessarily a true theory, it has just withstood attempts to prove it wrong”. Sociology doesn’t attempt to prove theories wrong and just proclaims a truth
- Science thrives in open societies where we have free expression and can challenge/falsify accepted ideas - sociological theories are a closed system
How can we evaluate Popper?
AO3
- All because most of sociology isn’t scientific doesn’t mean it can’t be
- Sociology can be scientific as long as they produce a hypothesis that can be falsified
- e.g. Ford hypothesised that comprehensive schooling will lead to social mixing and was able to falsify this through empirical testing and found that there wasn’t due to setting and streaming
- All because theories like Marxism aren’t testable, doesn’t mean that they are worthless - they may become testable
Why does Khun think sociology is not a science?
AO1/2
- Unlike sociologists, scientists accept one paradigm and don’t consider rival perspectives
- Scientists work in paradigms as conformity is rewarded and non-conformity is often punished by work not being published or dismissed
- e.g. Velokovsky’s ‘Colliding World Theory’ being boycotted
- When scientists obtain contradicting findings confidence in paradigms declines which leads to a paradigm shift
- e.g. earth being flat -> earth being a sphere
- Sociology is pre-paradigmatic - can’t be a science as it can’t have a paradigm shift as this would need radical and liberal perspectives to agree
How can we evaluate Khun?
AO3
Postmodernists: sociology shouldn’t operate on scientific paradigms as these are just metanarratives - there is no all encompassing truth
Why do realists see sociology as a science?
AO1/2
Sayer, Keat, and Urry:
- Have a new reason for why sociology IS a science. Rejects positivist view that sociology is a science as it’s only concerned with observable things AND rejects interpretivist view that sociology isn’t a science as it researches unobservable things
- Closed systems = the researcher can control and measure all variables to make predictions
- In open systems the researcher can’t control and measure all relevant variables and so can’t make precise predictions - science can be an open system e.g. seismology, black holes, big bang and so are most sociological theory
- Sociology isn’t a closed system but this isn’t required in order to be a science - it is a social science and much like natural sciences it attempts to explain the cause of events in terms of underlying structures and processes - these structures are unobservable but sociologists like scientists in open systems, observe their effects
Who thinks sociology can and should be value free?
AO1/2
- Comte: as the ‘queen of the sciences’ sociology uses scientific methods to explain human behaviour
- Durkheim: sociology can create an objective world view and better society when not dependent on subjective interpretations
- Marx: wanted to prove capitalism caused exploitation scientifically - value free
What does Weber think about values in sociology?
AO1
It is impossible for sociology to be value free but sociologists should be value neutral
- Values should be a guide to research: sociologists should avoid the meaningless infinity of facts that dominate society and choose topics of interest to themself and society
- Data collection and hypothesis testing should be objective as possible - sociologists should keep their values out of this
- Values can be reinserted into the interpretation of data as sociologists must put results within a theoretical framework to understand the significance and draw conclusions
- Sociologists must spell out their values so it is clear to us and there is no unconscious bias within the research
- Sociologists have a duty to not hide behind objectivity in their research and take moral responsibility for the consequences of their research like how Einstein created nuclear technology but spoke out against nuclear war
Why do other theories think sociology isn’t value free?
AO1/3
- New Right: Sociology isn’t value free due to the left wing bias. Marsland: “Sociology is the enemy within … biased one-sideness of contemporary Sociology”
- Feminists: Sociology isn’t value free due to it’s male bias. Heidensohn: sociology is malestream, Oakley: “sociology reduces women to a side issue from the start”
What is Gouldner’s view?
AO3
In the 1950s sociologists deliberately left their values out of research for 2 main reasons:
1. The desire to appear scientific: to gain more status and prestige within the scientific community
2. Employment by government, business, and military: sociologists used to be problem makers who were critical of societal institutions, now they are problem takers who aim to solve their problems and compromise by leaving their values out of research
“Those who claim to be value free are merely gutless non-academics with few moral scruples who have sold out to the establishment in return for a pleasant university lifestyle”
Who else thinks sociology isn’t and shouldn’t be value free?
AO1/2
- Interpretivists: sociology investigates individuals subjective experiences - to understand individual behaviour we need an individual POV - verstehen requires taking on values
- Gomm: “a value free sociology is impossible … the very idea is unsociological” - to study society is studying norms and values - sociology can’t be value free when it’s literally interested in values
- Becker: underdog theory - we need to be committed sociologists and take the side of the underdog. Traditional sociology takes the side of the powerful overdog e.g. police, teachers, doctors, etc
- Goffman: to understand mental health we need to take the patient’s side not the doctor’s
What is the marxist view of sociology being a science?
AO1/2/3
- Althusser: sociology is a science - structural neomarxism scientifically studies capitalist structures
- Taylor, Walton, and Young: new criminology - an interpretivist marxist way of thinking - “rule makers are also the greatest rule breakers”
EVAL:
- Althusser is contradictory - how can you be objective and also want to promote radical change? Ironically inspired a lot of interpretivist theory
- Postmodernism: both sides of the debate are metanarratives - there is no all-encompassing truth
Durkheim’s Suicide Study?
INCLUDES ANALYSIS AND EVAL
AO2/3
- Aimed to study social facts e.g. beliefs, norms, values, and culture of Denmark, England, and France and how this impacted suicide rates
- Denmark had highest and England had the lowest
- Was able to identify social links e.g. level of integration into society, occupation, and religion
- Trends: males = higher rate, non-religious = higher, Protestant = higher than Catholics, married/in relationships = lower
- Concluded that Protestants (and these other groups) are less integrated
- ANALYSIS: Men are still more likely to commit suicide at an almost 2:1 ratio, Catholic countries like Greece, Mexico, Spain, and Portugal have the lowest rates of suicide
- EVAL: Coroner bias, unscientific - Durkheim just verified his assumptions, no verstehen and based on his assumptions rather than actual evidence on why people commit suicide
How does Douglas criticise Durkheim’s suicide study?
coroner reports are value laden
AO3
- Durkheim didn’t give enough consideration to how official statistics on suicide are collected - they contain gross inaccuracies
- Officials interpret the death to decide the cause - what deaths show up in suicide statistics is dependent on this process of interpretation and decision-making
- The criteria coroners use to diagnose death creates issues in statistics
What does Atkinson say about suicide statistics?
coroner reports are value laden
AO3
- It’s not easy to study suicide and so there has been an overreliance on statistics which have questionable validity
- The coroner is forced to rely on idiosyncratic clues to infer suicidal intent and construct a psychological autopsy:
- Suicide notes: are the surest indicator of suicide but are only found in a minority of cases or can be used to hide murder. Genuine suicide notes are rational and give insight into the social meaning of suicide
- The mode of death: certain ways of death are more likely to be seen as suicide than others e.g. hanging VS road accidents. But sometimes it’s less clear e.g. overdoses can be accidental or on purpose - forces people to look for clues e.g. folding clothes before drowning
- Location/circumstance: e.g. being in a deserted place
- Life history: has something happened to them that would make them unhappy?
What was Atkinson, Kessel, and Dalgaard’s suicide study?
coroner reports are value laden
AO1/3
- Asked 4 English and 5 Danish coroners to decide on 40 cases
- Danes were much more likely to pronounce a suicide veridct as the probability only needs to be likely
- English coroners were less likely to pronounce suicide as they needed to be sure beyond reasonable doubt
- Thus Denmark have a higher suicide rate due to different rules NOT Durkheim’s reasonings
How can we analyse and evaluate Douglas and Atkinson?
AO3
- Changes in law reflect how suicide is socially constructed e.g. euthanasia is literally choosing to kill oneself but has been legalised and not classed as suicide
- Such interpretivist views have led to positive change in how society responds to suicide - greater emphasis on individual experience and motives e.g. suicide hotlines
- Too individualistic - suicide is not socially constructed it is a tangible thing
- Gives very little info into the causes of suicide - just criticises Durkheim and gives more insight into the development of statistics
What is Foucalt’s view of statistics?
AO1/2
Statistics are socially constructed through discourse - it is not a product of objective observation. Used prisons, medicine, and sexuality as case studies of this point:
- Prisons have seen a transition from sovereign to disciplinary power which has influenced crime statistics
- Midieval society saw mental illness as harmless but it is now seen as a serious issue to be treated - thus stats on mental health are socially constructed
- Centuries ago, many societies had no labels for different sexualities but modern society has created categories of sexuality which are reflected in statistics
What is the Marxist view of statistics?
AO1/2
- Statistics aren’t objective and are created by the bourgeoisie to serve their own interests
- Statistics serve the interests of capitalism and the ruling class e.g. life expectancy really just shows the productivity of the proletariat
- Althusser: statistics are an ISA used to create false class consciousness and make the proletariat think capitalism is good for them e.g. homelessness is covered up by prison stats - Melossi and Poverini
- Statistics disort and conceal real issues e.g. GDP shows the entire wealth of a country but fails to show where this wealth is going
- Hall: the government can change definitions to suit themselves e.g. changing the definition of kidnapping to include kids taken to county lines in order to make it look like more kidnappers are being caught
How can we evaluate the Marxist view of statistics?
AO3
- There are NGOs that produce official statistics that challenge capitalism e.g. Joseph Rowntree
What is Reinharz’s view?
AO1
- Feminist research uses a range of methods and give an ongoing criticism of non-feminist research
- Feminist research is guided by feminist theory and aims to create social change
- Feminist research frequently includes the researcher as a person and attempts to build a special relationship with the people studied
What is the feminist view of statistics?
AO1
- Statistics conceal real issues of patriarchy and are a form of patriarchal ideology e.g. no gov stats on women’s unpaid domestic labour, housewifes are excluded from unemployment stats
- Definitions in statistics are always changing but remain patriarchal e.g. men were legally the head of the household until 2001 when it was changed to whoever pays rent or earns the most - women’s status is tied to their partner or occupation
- Female position in society may be lost in data on class and income prominent in positivist non-feminist research
- Feminist methodology aims to avoid gender bias and reveal the true experiences of women and so avoid statistics and use qualitative methods like unstructured interviews
What was Oakley’s Birth and Motherhood study?
AO2/3
- 178 unstructured interviews about becoming mothers
- Would answer questions about herself and took the participants as her friends - this removed the power imbalance and allowed for collaboration
- The rapport built created more data as the participants would call Oakley to offer more information
- Oakley’s value laden approach makes her believe that she improved the lives of the women who participated which in turn proves results as valid
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Key Theories84
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Theory and Methods26
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Sociology and Social Policy13
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Research Methods30
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Theories of Education38
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Internal Factors Affecting Education47
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Social Class and Achievement37
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Ethnicity and Achievement29
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Gender and Achievement46
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Educational Policies27
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Government and Education28
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Social Groups and Educational Policy12
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Types of School24
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Globalisation and Education11
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Families and Households20
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Theories of the Family32
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Policies On Family27
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Family Trends and Patterns37
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Family Diversity23
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Does the family benefit its members?37
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Demography27
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Childhood41
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The social construction of crime6
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Functionalist Theories of crime24
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Interactionist + Environmental Theories of Crime19
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Marxist Theories of Crime25
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Realism and Crime30
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Postmodernism and Crime12
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Measuring crime16
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Gender, Ethnicity and crime39
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Globalisation, Mass Media and Crime26
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Green Crime & State Crime24
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History of Punishment17
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Crime Control and Prevention37
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Victimology28
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Definitions of Religion13
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Science VS Religion14
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Ideologies17
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Theories of Religion46
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Religion and Social Change12
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Postmodernism and Religion24
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Religious Organisations - Denominations, NRMs, and NAMs38
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CAGE and religion27
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Secularisation16
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Fundamentalism11
