Research and sociological theory

science uses experiments+observation to test theories

• Science collects data through experiments, observation and measurment in order to test hypothesis
• Science values objectivity(unbiased view). Scientific statements are based on evidence collected using systematic, logical methods.

Logical Positivists - scientists search for scientific laws

• researcher observes something and decides it needs to be explained
• researcher creates hypothesis to explain thenomenon
• hypothesis tested by experiments
• if experiment agrees with hypothesis then scientific law created

Popper(1959,63) - experiments should try to prove hypothesis wrong - falsification

• you can't ever prove a hypothesis correct, but you can prove it wrong with just one piece of contradictory evidence
• it wasn't possible to know absolute truth, because you can't prove things are correct

Thomas Khun(1962) - disagreed with logical positivists and Popper

• science uses an accepted body of knowledge to solve puzzles. "normal science"
• scientists took a lot of assumptions about the world for granted. Assumed way of looking at the world is a "paradigm". Scientists are constrained by the paradigm they take for granted
• big leaps in science come about when evidence which doesn't fit the paradigm builds up to where it can't be ignored. Then new paradigm invented. Scientific revolution(Higgs Boson)
• Paul Feyeraband(1975) - there aren't any hard and fast rules of scientific method. Scientists "tweak" their methods to make them work. Already accepted theories influence the ways scientists actually observe facts.

• Auguste Comte(1798-1857) founding father, said sociology is a science. Sociology should be used to develop a rational theory of society.
• Popper said some sociological concepts weren't scientific as they couldn't be proven wrong. Sociology is only a science if hypothesis could be falsified
• Kuhn - Sociology doesn't have a paradigm - no consensus about what it is and how it's done. it isn't a science.

• objective knowledge is the same no matter what your p.o.v. Objective methods provide facts that can be verified or falsified. Objective research is value free.
• Subjective knowledge - depends on your p.o.v. Subjective methods give data that can't be easily tested. Subjective research requires interpretation
• Sociology is more subjective than natural sciences
• Lyotard(1984) - It's impossible to be objective at all
• Lyotard - knowledge is something people construct, not something discovered

• Positivists think sociology should be scientific and analyse facts. Social facts = things that can be directly observed and measured. Social facts are external, and constrain behaviour
• Look for correlations in data, and cause and effect relationships. They used quantitative methods like questionnaires and official statistics, which are objective and reliable.

• Interpretivist sociologists(interactionists) say sociology doesn't suit scientific methods. Try to understand behaviour from p.o.v of individual, using methods that discover meanings, motives, and reasons behind behaviour.
• Weber said it's important to use empathy to figure out why an individual is doing what they are doing. Called this "verstehen"

• value free research = no judgements about good/bad
• researcher's own beliefs are not allowed to get in the way. No leading questions etc.
• for value freedom to work, researcher must interpret all data objectively
• end use of research shouldn't matter. Research should provide knowledge, how it is used shouldn't worry the researcher
• Positivists -Quantitative methods more value free than qualitative 
• Qualitative methods mean researcher more involved, more risk of attitudes and feeling will influence respondents
• Quantitative methods allow rsearcher less opportunity to influence + allow researcher to keep distance

• Sociology can't be value free
• decision to research is value-laden. Research for state or business most likely to get funding.
• difficult to avoid bias
• Fems + Marx deliberately choose research which has an end-use they approve of. Sociology should make value judgements and suggest ways it could be better