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SOCIOLOGY AS A SCIENCE - Coggle Diagram
SOCIOLOGY AS A SCIENCE
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FALSIFICATION
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instead of verification, what makes science unique is falsification
- the idea that a statement can be falsified by evidence - so a good theory is one that stands up to any attempts to disprove it
- he states that sociology at present is not a science because its theories/statements are not able to be put to the test with the possibility of being falsified
- e.g. Marxism states there will be a revolution to overthrow capitalism, but this has not yet occurred due to false class consciousness (the way that the proletariat are led to believe their oppression by the bourgeoisie's normal, they can become them if they work hard)
-means that Marxism cannot be falsified as if there is a revolution, Marxism is correct, and even if there isn't they still are
- but, Popper said that sociology could be a science as it is capable of producing testable hypothesis
REALISTS
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- they recognise that there are some similarities between sociology and the natural sciences, depending on the amount of control the researcher has over their variables
they recognise 2 types of system within science;
- closed systems - researchers able to control + measure the relevant varaibles, and therefore can make predictions
- open systems - researcher not able to control and measure all the variables, so can't make precise predictions due to complex nature of the subject area
– Keat and Urry argue that sociology id an open system as there are often complex systems and multiple variables which the researcher can't control
POSITIVISTS
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- believe that there are social facts which make up the rules of society which are separate of individuals
- believe society can be studied in the same way as the natural world + that patterns can be observed + analysed t create the social facts which rule society
- this is called inductive reasoning - involves accumulating data about the world through careful observation and measurement
- from this, a theory can be formed and verified through further study
- also believe sociology should follow the objective experimental methods that the natural sciences follow, so the research remains value free (unbiased to achieve scientific findings) and patterns and causation can be established
PARADIGMS
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- is a basic framework of assumptions, principals and methods from which the members of the community work
- is a set of norms which tell scientists how to think and behave, although in science there are rival schools of thought there is still a single paradigm that all scientists accept uncritically
-currently, sociology doesn't have a single paradigm (there are rival schools of thought and no fundamental agreement on what/how to study)
- Kuhn refers to this as being pre-paradigmatic - stating sociology could become a science if it is able to develop this single fundamental belief system
- Postmodernists do not think a single paradigm is desirable in sociology as it is too close to being a meta narrative
INTERPRETIVISTS
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thinkers = WEBER, SCHUTZ, MEAD
sociology and science differ on 2 major areas:
- observable V unobservable - sociology is concerned with unobservable internal meanings behind action and not external causes, so is unobservable - whereas the natural sciences deal mostly with the observable cause and effect
- consciousness - the natural sciences studies matter which doesnt have consciousness, therefore behaviour can be explained as a reaction to external stimulus
- whereas sociology is dealing with conscious beings who make sense of the world by attaching meaning to action
- these meanings are internal and based on experiences so not directly linked to external stimulus