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  7. Unit 4 SCLY4 - Crime and Deviance with Theory and Methods; Stratification and Differentiation with Theory and Methods

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Summary theories and methods key points
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Comprehensive document that explains the most complicated topic in sociology in simple terms. clearly defines all areas of the confusing topic. includes is sociology a science? and the different between positivists and interpretivists.

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  • August 26, 2022
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  • 2022/2023
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Theory and methods
Topic 3: Sociology and science
Positivism
- Founding fathers of sociology were impressed with success of natural sciences explanations
- Comte coined term ‘sociology’ is a key positivist.
- Believe it is possible and desirable to apply logical methods to study society to bring true objective
knowledge. Provide basis for solving social problems
- Believes reality exists outside of human mind e.g. nature is made up of physical facts external to our minds so
society is an objective factual reality made up of social facts
- Patterns, laws and inductive reasoning
 Reality has patterns that can be empirically observed, recorded by scientists systematically.
 Durkheim said real laws are discoverable that will explain patterns
- Verificationism
 Observations verify theory so can claim to have discovered the truth/ general law. E.g. formed
universal law of gravity after apple fell on ground.
 Inductive reasoning claims to verify a theory
 Patterns can all be explained by findings facts that cause them e.g. explaining education failure in
terms of material deprivation.
 Aim to produce universal laws on how society works to predict future and guide social policies
- Objective quantitative research
 Should use experimental methods to allow for hypothesis testing in controlled ways
 Quantitative data uncovers patterns, can produce mathematically precise measures of relationships
 Cause and effect
 Researchers shouldn’t let values or prejudices influence research, should be detached. Different to
natural science as deals with people. Also produces reliable data
- Positivism and suicide
 Durkheim studied suicide to prove sociology as a science, could show how individual act had social
causes.
 Used quantitative data from official stats, observed patterns in suicide rate e.g. protestants higher
than Catholics so concluded result of social facts determining behaviour.
 Level of integration and regulation were responsible for patterns.
 Claimed to have discovered a new law
Interpretivism
- Do not believe sociology should model natural sciences, criticises positivists as inadequate for humans.
- Subject matter of sociology
 Meaningful social action, have to understand meaning and motives for an actor.
 Sociology is about unobservable internal meanings.
 DOESN’T see sociology as a science as humans have consciousness and attach meanings to thing.
 Mead says we exercise free will/ choice in how to respond after interpretation occurs e.g.
interpreting red light as stop so chooses to stop.
 Individuals are not puppets
- Verstehen and qualitative research
 Abandons detachment and objectivity, use what Weber calls verstehen
 Favour qualitative methods that produce richer data that is highly valid, gives subjective
understanding of the world.
- Types of interpretivism
 Interactionists- believe we can have causal explanations. Reject idea of defining hypothesis before
starting research. Glaser and Strauss say this risks imposing own view of what's important. Favour
bottom-up approach, ideas emerge from observation made during research. Can then be used to
produce testable hypothesis
 Phenomenologists and ethnomethodologists- e.g. Garfinkel reject possibility of causal explanations of
behaviour, take a radically anti-structuralist view. See social reality as simply the shared meanings/
knowledge of its members, only exists in peoples conscious
- Interpretivism and suicide
 Douglas rejects positivist idea of external social facts determining behaviour, must uncover meaning
of suicide for those involved.

, Theory and methods
 Rejects use of official statistics as they are not objective facts but social constructions from coroners
label of deaths as suicide. Proposes use of qualitative data e.g. case studies to reveal actors meanings
 Atkinson (ethno) rejects idea of social facts determining behaviour, argues we will never know the
real rate of suicide as we cannot know the meanings for the dead. Can only study how the living make
sense of deaths
- Postmodernism, feminism and scientific sociology
 Argue there are multiple truths and science is simply a meta-narrative, scientific sociology would be
making false claims about having the truth and acting as from of domination
 E.g. Marxism used theory to justify coercion and oppression in soviet union
 Search for universal theory of feminism is a form of oppression by excluding groups of women
 Science has led to the emergence of ‘risk society’ with dangers such as weapons, global warming etc.
- What is science?
 Interpretivists tend to agree with positivists description of natural sciences (inductive reasoning and
Verificationism)
Karl Popper: how science grows
- Popper notes many systems claim to be scientific. Asks what distinguishes scientific knowledge from others
forms of knowledge and why has scientific justification been able to grow
- Fallacy of induction
 Popper differs from positivists by rejecting science lies in inductive reasoning and verificationism
 Proves fallacy of induction through use of swans. Make generalisation that all swans are white is easy
to verify but one black swan observed destroys the theory.
 Can never prove a theory is true by producing more observations that verify it.
- Falsificationism
 Popper says a scientific statement is one that can be falsified by evidence. Must be able to state what
evidence would falsify the theory
 A good theory has to have
1. Ability to be falsified when tested
2. Claims to explain a great deal, can big generalisations that predict a large number of cases/
events
- Truth
 Popper says all knowledge is temporary, never absolute proof in truth of information
- Criticism and open society
 Science is a public activity, everything must be open to criticism to expose flaws in theories.
 Science thrives in open societies
- Implications for sociology
 Popper believes sociology is not scientific as theories can't be falsified. E.g. Marxism predicts
revolution will lead to classless society yet this hasn’t happened because of false class consciousness
so cannot be falsified
 Believes sociology could become scientific as can produce falsifiable hypothesis through empirical
research
 Doesn’t see theories as worthless as can still be examined for clarity and logical consistency
Kuhn: scientific paradigms
- Paradigm
 Shared by members of a scientific community to define what their science is.
 Provides basic framework of assumptions/ principles/ methods/ techniques
 Worldview tells scientists what nature is like/ what should be studied and how
 Set of norms/ culture that tells scientists how to think and behave. Those in natural scientists are not
encouraged to consider rival perspectives. Conformity to paradigm is praised through publication
 Kuhn says science cannot exist without shared paradigm. Sociology has no paradigm as different
strands have different theories.
- Normal science
 Most of the time paradigms are unquestioned allowing normal science e.g. solving puzzles not
creating something new
 Paradigms allow scientists to agree on basics of their subject and become productive
- Scientific revolutions

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