Unit 1: Theory and Methods Structuralism and interpretivism; Functionalism, Marxism and feminism Lesson objective: o To understand the main theoretical approaches to the study of sociology. • Sociology tries to understand and explain the relationship between people and the societies they live in. A society is the group to which you belong. • It can be a small unit e.g. family or a large one like your country, and anything in between. • Education • Religious attitudes • Male or female Structuralism vs interpretivism Structuralism: an approach focusing on the large-scale (macro) social structures in which people play defined roles. Interpretivism: approaches that start at the level of the individual, focusing on small-scale phenomena and usually favouring qualitative methods. Structuralism • Structuralists see societies as a set of structures in which individuals play definite roles. • It is the social roles and the actions that people carry out in fulfilling these roles that are important, not the individual themselves. The more socially integrate and connected a person is, the less likely he or she is to commit suicide. As social integration decreases, people are more likely to commit suicide. Emile Durkheim (1858 – 1917) Positivism Auguste Comte (1798 – 1857) • The central claim of positivism was that the methods of the science laboratory could be used to advantage in investigating society. • The scientific method is seen as being objective and balanced. Positivism… • For the positivists, the important issue was that social status as a concept was real, and existed as a measurable social fact. • Within this sociological perspective, it was possible to state that one person’s social status was higher than another person’s, and even to attribute numerical values to the data. • Durkheim felt that society could be investigated in the same precise, objective fashion as in the physical or ‘natural’ sciences. • He looked for correlations and causation between variables. Emily Durkheim (1858 – 1917) Interpretivism • Interpretivists start with the individual rather than society and focus on the micro rather than the macro scale. • People make the societies they live in and change them through their actions. • Interpretivists are interested in how individuals make sense of society and of social relations. • How people see themselves and what makes up their identity (who we think we are). In conclusion • Structuralist uses positivist method (experiment, survey) that produces quantitative data. • Interpretivist prefers methods such as interviews and participant observation that produce qualitative data. Sociological perspectives Functionalism Marxism Feminism Functionalism • Functionalists emphasise social functions. • Functionalists perceive human society as being like the human body (organic/ biological analogy) = each part of society is seen as having functions that all help the society as a whole to be healthy and survive. • The most important perspective in sociology for many years, especially in the early and mid-20th century. • It was the way that most sociologists thought societies worked. Talcott Parsons (1902 – 1979) Marxism • Marxism: a perspective that argues that modern industrial societies are based on a fundamental conflict between different social classes. • Marxists argue that there is a permanent and continuous conflict of interest between social classes that takes the form of strikes and other protests by the working class, and can lead to revolution. Karl Marx (1818 – 1883) Marxists agree with functionalists that parts of society have functions although they disagree completely about their interpretation. Feminism • Like Marxists, feminists see a fundamental division between two groups in society, but for feminists this division is between the two sexes rather than two classes. • Feminists argue that it is men who control society and who have wealth and power in all aspects of society: Relationships Families The world of work Education • The control of society by men: patriarchy • Feminism has sometimes been seen as being anti-men but many feminists argue that equality will bring benefits for men as well. Radical feminism: • Societies remain fundamentally patriarchal and men still have power. Marxist (Socialist) feminism: • Focuses on how class and gender work together to produce fundamental divisions in society. Unit 1: Theory and Methods How do sociologists study society? Lesson objectives: o To describe the main stages in sociological research. How do sociologists study society? Positivism Interpretivism Produce quantitative data (information and facts that take a numerical form). Produce qualitative data (attitudes). Based on the belief that sociology should use the same research methods as the natural sciences. Humans are active, conscious beings; they make choices. Strive for unbiased results and objectivity. Think it is more important to understand why people behave as they do. Favour experiments, social surveys and questionnaires. Prefer to use unstructured interviews and participant observation. Research aims and Hypothesis setting and revision selection of topic Identification of a problem Research projects do not stand alone; they are always related to or even arise directly from earlier research. Literature review: drawing on the ideas of others helps the sociologist clarify the issues and make decisions about how to proceed. Hypothesis: a statement that the research will attempt to find evidence to support or disprove Pilot studies Whatever method is chosen, it is important whenever possible to test it with a small number of respondents. Sampling Survey population: the people that the research is about. Sampling frame: a list of everyone in the population 1) The electoral roll/ register 2) Telephone directories 3) School registers Samples are usually chosen so that they are representative. The main steps in devising and implementing a research strategy To be representative, the sample has to be a cross-section of the population. Types of sample 1) Random samples o Everyone in the sampling frame has an equal chance of being chosen. o Random samples are not always representative. 2) Stratified samples o When the sampling frame is divided, for example, by sex, age, ethnic group. 3) Quota samples o When a researcher is sent out with instructions to find people with certain characteristics. o Market research. 4) Snowball samples o It involves finding one respondent and getting them to put you in touch with one or more others. 5) Systematic samples o When there is a regular pattern to the choice. 6) Cluster samples o When the population is spread out over a large area, such as a whole country. Certain areas are chosen for the sampling frame. 7) Opportunity samples o These are simply the people who are available at the time to take part in the research. Difficulties in implementing a research strategy Research stage Potential problem Identifying a topic for research There may be practical problems that can be foreseen, such as finding respondents. It may be difficult to get funding. Reviewing existing evidence It may be difficult to find existing evidence; the researcher may have to check many possible sources. Developing a hypothesis or aim At this stage difficult choices must be made about the overall approach; for example, what kinds of data are required. Choosing a method The method chosen may not produce data that can confirm or disprove the hypothesis or does not fulfil the aim of the project. Implementing a research Practical, ethical or theoretical. method Implementation of a research strategy: Ethnical issues Ethnical issues: issues that have a moral dimension, such as when harm or distress may be caused to the participants. Some of the main ethical guidelines: 1. The participants must not be harmed (physical/ emotional). 2. The participants’ informed consent should be obtained. 3. The researcher should not invade the participants’ privacy. 4. Participants should not be deceived. Unit 1: Theory and Methods The main methods used in sociological investigation Lesson objectives: o To describe the main methods used in sociological research and be able to evaluate them referring to practical, ethical and theoretical issues. Questionnaires/ Social surveys Self-completion questionnaire Structured interviews Main methods Unstructured interviews Interviews Semi-structured interviews Focus groups Experiments Group interviews Case studies Longitudinal studies Participant observation Non-participant observation Content analysis Triangulation Questionnaires/ Social surveys Quantitative data Closed/ Pre-coded questions The researcher provides a set of answers from which the respondent can choose one (or sometimes more). Scaled questions A particular form of close-ended question: Agree strongly/ agree/ neither agree nor disagree/ disagree/ strongly disagree Open questions To probe more deeply into why people believe or do particular things. Advantage: It makes it easy to analyse the results and produce statistical tables. Disadvantage: Some respondents may want to give answers that are not available in the options provided. (Dis)advantage: If you eliminate the middle option, you push your respondents into making a decision. This helps to produce data that seem to prove something, but runs the risk of making people agree (or disagree) when they really do not have a preference. Advantage: This produces some limited qualitative data. Disadvantage: It is difficult to analyse the data. Self-completion questionnaire • Self-administered questionnaire • Postal questionnaires • The response rate is often very low and this calls into question the representativeness of the findings. Structured interviews • Standardised interviews i.e. the same questions are asked in the same order. • Telephone questionnaire/ face-to-face Self-completion questionnaires Strengths • • • • They are cheaper than structured interviews because they can be distributed by posts. Large number of questionnaires can be posted to participants who may be geographically distant. Limitations • • The researcher is not present so cannot influence the answers given. • They are convenient for participants who can complete the questionnaire when they choose. • The response rate is low compared to structured interviews. Questions may be misunderstood and if a participant does not understand a question there is no one present to explain it. The researcher cannot be sure who answered the questions. Participants often leave some questions unanswered. Structured interviews Strengths • • • • If the participant does not understand a question the interviewer can explain it. The interviewer can ask additional questions, probing deeper, or avoid questions that are not relevant to the participant. Limitations • • There is a higher response rate to structured interviews than to self-completion questionnaires. • The interviewer may be able to set up a good relationship with the participants, winning their trust and getting valid answers. • The interviewers may themselves influence the answers given either through their own social characteristics or through interaction with the participant. They take more time and are therefore more expensive than self-completion questionnaires. Participants may give socially desirable answers; that is, the answers that they think are the right ones. If several interviewers are used they may approach their work in different ways. • The interviewer has only a brief set of questions. Semi-structured interviews Unstructured interviews • Interviewers do not have to keep to a schedule of questions. • The interviews are much more flexible and more like a conversation. • The interviewer can follow up things that the interviewee says by asking new questions. • The interviewer has an interview guide. • The order of questions may vary and questions not in the guide may be asked. Group interviews Focus groups • A particular kind of group interview. • Focus group interviews are about one particular topic. • They were first used in market research. • Focus groups enable researchers to find out not just what individuals say but what they say as members of a group and how they respond to the view of others. • Focus groups bring out a wide variety of views because they provide a forum in which people can share their views and ideas. • Any interview involving a group interviewed together. • The interviewer’s role is to question, and to control the direction the interview takes as she or he is seeking to obtain particular information. Qualitative interviews Strengths • • • • Interviews, conducted well, provide detailed and valid data on the point of view of respondents, who are able to say what they really think. The flexibility of the interview allows the interviewer to probe more deeply or to follow new directions. Interviewers can often assess the honesty and validity of the answers as they are given. They can bring out information for further investigation. Limitations • • • • • • Interviews are time consuming, both to carry out and then to transcribe and analyse. It can be difficult to make generalisations when standardised questions are not used. They are less reliable than structured interviews because they are difficult to replicate. The interviewers need to be highly skilled. The responses may be affected by interviewer bias. The responses may also be affected by interviewer effect. Experiments • Experiments are in many ways a neglected method in sociology but they are a valid way of studying social behaviour. • They are the closest we can get in sociology to the methods of the natural sciences (a positivist method, producing quantitative data, to find cause and effect relationships/ correlations). • Scientists claimed that experiments have a high degree of reliability and validity. • • There are very few laboratory experiments in sociology because they are deeply flawed from a sociologist’s point of view. Hawthorne/ Observer effect: people’s behaviour changes when they know they are being observed. Field experiment • • Experiments that take place in the natural setting of the real world rather than in a laboratory. These experiments are often used by non-positivists and the results can be qualitative. Case studies • A detailed research on one or more examples of people or things. • It can involve any method or a combination of methods, quantitative or qualitative. • It is usually not possible to generalise from case studies or to use them to prove or disprove a hypothesis. Longitudinal studies • They are carried out periodically over a period of time, rather than as a oneoff piece of research. • It is often used by government-funded research organisations to ask basic questions about changing lifestyle, health, illness, education and employment. • Panel studies: the same sample (panel sample) is used each time. Participant and non-participant observation Participant observation Overt participant observation • When the group being studied is aware that research is taking place and of who the researcher is. Covert participant observation • In such research the group being studied is unaware of the research and is deceived into thinking the researcher is a real member of the group. Non-participant observation • When the researcher observes a group but does not participate in what it is doing. Content analysis • • A research method used specifically to study the content of documents and the mass media e.g. books, newspapers and magazines, television and films and websites. A researcher defines a set of categories and then classifies the material being studied by how frequently it appears in the different categories. Triangulation • To use a variety of research methods. Unit 1: Theory and Methods Types of data Lesson objectives: o To understand the main types of information and data that sociologists use. Primary and secondary data • • Primary data are collected by the researcher. Secondary data are data that already exist, having previously been gathered by an earlier researcher (at which time they were primary data). Official statistics produced by government or official organisations Other research by other sociologists, by journalists and by the government The media Other sources (qualitative data e.g. diaries, letters and photographs) • Both primary and secondary data can be either quantitative or qualitative. Quantitative secondary data: Official statistics • Official statistics are the main source of secondary quantitative data for sociologists and are widely used. • Produced by national and local governments and by official bodies. • Hard statistics: births, marriages, deaths. [should be completely accurate] • Soft statistics: depend on people making decisions about what to record and how, so that these decisions may lead to different statistics, e.g. unemployment statistics. Strengths • They are readily available, often free of charge and on the internet. • They are often part of longitudinal research. This makes it possible to identify trends. Limitations • Interpretivists argue that statistics are socially constructed, rather than being objective facts. • Official statistics are funded by government, which means that politics can affect the statistics. • Marxists argue that statistics reflect the interests of the ruling class. Quantitative secondary data: Non-official statistics • Non-official statistics are produced by other organisations, such as charities and think tanks (policy institutes). Qualitative secondary data Letters and diaries Autobiographies Photographs, home videos Household accounts, wills, shopping lists Strengths • They offer first-hand accounts by people involved. • They provide descriptive detail and insight missing in statistical sources. • They may be high in validity. Limitations • They may be unrepresentative. • They need to be checked against other sources. • They may be biased, intentionally or otherwise and may reflect the emotional state of the writer at the time. Qualitative data: Media content • The media e.g. newspapers, magazines, television, film, recorded music and the internet provide a vast amount of material of interest to sociologists. • The media can be a source of information on a topic being researched. • The researcher needs to be aware of possible bias and selectivity in the content of the programme.
