Sociological Methods

A. Swaby-Burton
Contributor

HOW DO WE STUDY SOCIETY?

SOCIETY IS studied through the use of data collection utilising the various sociological methods of research. This lesson will focus on:

* Macro and micro perspectives

* Qualitative and quantitative research

* Primary and Secondary data

POSITIVISM (MACRO)

The most crucial fact about positivism is its emphasis on the unity of the sciences. In terms of this assumption, it is commonly argued that the relatively 'young' social sciences should seek to follow the path taken by the more 'mature', and successful natural sciences. It is said that this will enable sociologists to discover the laws that govern social phenomena in much the same way as the natural sciences have uncovered laws of nature. Although laws of social evolution may never be precise as natural laws, this is usually regarded as due to secondary factors like the practical difficulties involved in studying people or the greater complexity of social reality. The crucial point for positivist is that factors like this are subordinate to the fundamental principles of scientific knowledge which are thought to be the same everywhere.

IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH: POSITIVISM

Positivists aim to be scientific and seek to obtain factual data that can easily be quantified and used to support or question a theory of behaviour. For positivists, the study must be capable of validation by another researcher who is able to repeat the study and produce the same findings. It must also be accurate in terms of the group being studied, which must reflect the wider population under investigation. As such, larger numbers should be studied and precise sampling techniques used to ensure
representatives.

Positivists emphasise the importance of quantitative data. That is information on the extent of a social characteristic and its association with other variables. They point out that progress in the natural sciences have been largely due to the techniques of observation, classification and measurement that natural scientists have developed. In the natural sciences these techniques are judged by their reliabi-lity. This refers to, as stated above, whether an investigation can be repeated by others under controlled conditions and using the same methods to obtain identical results. If this is the case the results are confirmed then the information yielded by the investigation can be regarded as fact.

Getting at the facts is what many positivists regard as important. Although sociologist may not have such sophisticated techniques at is disposal as the Natural Sciences, positivists believe that in order to make progress, sociologists must develop ways of measuring social behaviour. In particular, positivists favour social surveys. Many argue that by taking more care over sampling procedures, the wording of questionnaires, the conduct of interviews and so on it will be possible to improve the reliability of sociological knowledge. Positivists believe that with more data and more reliable data at their disposal sociologists will be able to make more precise generalisations, which will enable them to discover the causes of social behaviour and make predictions about future trends.

IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH: INTERPRETIVISTS

Interpretivists sociologists seek richness of detail about a small group in order to understand the meanings they give to their behaviour and to the world around them. The aim is to relate to their subjects in order to understand their world view. They believe that people have the ability to produce and negotiate their own meanings for their behaviour and that is vital for the sociologist to see people on their own terms and not impose their meanings on them.

For the interpretivist sociologist, the basic point is that there is no hard and fast distinction between facts and values when it comes to studying social action. The reason is that individuals are conscious of their behaviour and that of others and they act in terms of the significance they attribute to the events around them. It is thus the beliefs of members of society about what is worthwhile and how to achieve it that are the most important facts for the sociologist. This implies that the study of social phenomena must begin with the subjective 'state of mind' of social actors. This is the opposite of the positivists who impose an external meaning upon activitism in an attempt to define and measure social facts objectively. Interpretivists sociologists argue that the sociologist should start with the meaning an action already has for the social actor involved.

As a result of this, the interpretivist sociologist is led to see the issue as one of 'validity' of data. For them validity refers to the degree to which an account is true to the essential characteristics of the reality under investigation. However, since the characteristics of social reality depend upon the meaningful actions of its members the validity of an account will depend upon the sociologists being able to understand their subjective point of view. As pointed out by the interpretivist, the preconceived ideas or categories of the positivist sociology are regarded as an obstacle and not an aid to research.

In essence, what the interpretive sociologists are saying is that values are the underlying facts upon which social life depends and however adept sociologists become at measuring social facts, this does not help explain their meanings. They argue that real progress in sociology depends upon the sociologist being able to change points of view so as to interpret social events in the same way as members of society make sense of them. In particular, interpretive sociologists emphasise the usefulness of qualitative methods such as informal interviews and participant observation studies since these methods help break down the barriers between sociologists and those they study. Although positivists criticise such methods for their lack of reliability interpretivist sociologists claim that because they help sociologists understand the points of view of members of society they more than make up for this in validity.

The following diagram will help to further explain the work of the positivists and the interpretivists. (sociology a diagram here)

QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE DATA

Qualitative methods are mainly used to produce data about the personal experience and meanings of social actors. They are usually based on the social actors own words or on observation (sometimes filmed) of the actors behaviour. The main qualitative methods are observation and unstructured interviews.

Quantitative methods are used to produce numerical or statistical data. They are usually employed in sociology in research into social relationships such as that between social class and social mobility. The main quantitative techniques are questionnaire and structured interviews. The earliest attempts to use quantitative methods in sociology is known as positivism - observation and measurement.

Quantitative data are most suitable for structural research, and qualitative methods for interpretist research.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY DATA

Primary sources of information refer to data produced by the sociologist's original research. It consists of the information collected by the researcher during the course of his work. The use of observation, interviews and questionnaires produces primary data.

Secondary sources of data are those which already exists, such as official statistics, newspapers and research that has already been done by other sociologists (mass media products, diaries, letters, government reports, historical and contemporary records. The data available from these sources may be primarily qualitative or quantitative when sociologists refers to existing sociological studies done by other writers in their own research, these become secondary sources.

ADVANTAGES OF USING SECONDARY SOURCES

* They save time and money

* They provide access to historical data that cannot be produced using primary research, because the events concerned took place before current members of society were born.

DISADVANTAGES

* Secondary sources are invaluable to sociologists but they have to be used with caution.

* Their validity and reliability are open to question.

* Often they do not provide the exact information required by the sociologist.

See next week lesson as we continue to explore research techniques.