Sociology as a science

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  • Created by: eainger12
  • Created on: 12-07-18 12:34
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  • Sociology as a science
    • sociology can be a science
      • positivists
        • quantitative data
          • statistics are scientific
          • patterns and trends
      • Emile Durkheim
        • 'scientific laws'
          • established pattern of behaviour, predict future events; solve social issues
            • example: Durkheim's suicide study
    • sociology cannot be a science
      • interpretivists
        • we're heterogeneous
        • humans cannot be controlled
        • everything about science is artificial
        • people are unpredictable
      • Kuhn
        • sociology doesn't have paradigms
          • science does have paradigms, such as all believing in evolution theory
          • example: theories disagree with and criticise each other
          • to be scientific sociology needs shared beliefs
            • unrealistic conclusion
    • sociology should  be a science
      • sociology would become more credible
        • science and sociology both use factual evidence
      • natural science has a clear effect on that such as medical practice. sociology has similar influence, just on the social world.
        • Untitled
    • sociology shouldn't be a science
      • scientists cheat
        • Kaplan (1964)
          • only 1/4 scientists were willing to provide original data
            • British Medical Journal said 1 in 5% of publish articles reach minimum standards
              • scientists pick what they publish
      • Post modernists
        • we see natural science as superior
      • verstehen
        • sociologists must have empathy for people, whereas scientists do not need empathy for inanimate objects
  • Auguste Comte
    • the natural world is like the social one and do can be studied in the same way
    • sociology can be a science
      • positivists
        • quantitative data
          • statistics are scientific
          • patterns and trends
      • Emile Durkheim
        • 'scientific laws'
          • established pattern of behaviour, predict future events; solve social issues
            • example: Durkheim's suicide study
  • Karl Popper
    • sociology isn't a science because it doesn't falsify
      • sociology uses an inductive method, not deductive
    • interpretivists
      • we're heterogeneous
      • humans cannot be controlled
      • everything about science is artificial
      • people are unpredictable
    • sociology needs to change to count as a science
    • five key features of scientific method
      • hypothesis formation
      • falsification
      • prediction
      • theory formation
      • scrutiny
  • practical issues
    • problem of prediction
    • sociology shouldn't be a science
      • scientists cheat
        • Kaplan (1964)
          • only 1/4 scientists were willing to provide original data
            • British Medical Journal said 1 in 5% of publish articles reach minimum standards
              • scientists pick what they publish
      • Post modernists
        • we see natural science as superior
      • verstehen
        • sociologists must have empathy for people, whereas scientists do not need empathy for inanimate objects
    • artificiality
    • ethical issues
    • validity
    • empirical observation
    • Hawthorne effect

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