Reading: Sociological Methods Slides

Sociology/Sociological Methods

Henry Reyenga

Sociology/Sociological Methods

The primary aim is to illustrate how sociologists go beyond common sense understandings in trying to explain or understand social phenomena. They do not see the world as we normally do, they question and analyze why things happen and if there is a way to stop a problem before it happens.

Authority

Choosing to trust another source for information is the act of making that source an authority in your life. Parents, friends, the media, religious leaders, your professor, books, or web pages are all examples of secondary sources of information that some people trust for information.

Experience

People often claim to have learned something through an experience, such as a car accident or using some type of drug. Some physical skills, such as waterskiing or playing basketball, are acquired primarily through experience. On the other hand, some experiences are subjective and are not generalizable to all.

Logic 

Simple deduction is often used to discern truth from falsity and is the primary way of knowing used in philosophy. I might suggest that if I fall in a swimming pool full of water, I will get wet. If that premise is true and I fall in a swimming pool, you could deduce that I got wet.

Tradition

Many people who live in societies that have not experienced industrialization decide what to do in the future by repeating what was done in the past. Even in modern societies, many people get satisfaction out of celebrating holidays the same way year after year. Fast-paced change in modern societies, however, makes traditional knowledge less and less helpful in making good choices.

Revelation

Christians acquire knowledge by consulting the Bible and believing what is written in it. 

Christians also receive revelations from the Holy Spirit in the form of visions or a general intuitive sense of what one should do.

Science

The scientific method combines the use of logic with controlled experience, creating a novel way of discovery that marries sensory input with careful thinking. By adopting a model of cause and effect, scientists produce knowledge that can explain certain phenomena and even predict various outcomes before they occur.

Scientific Method

This approach to doing science is often termed positivism (though perhaps more accurately should be called empiricism). The positivist approach to social science seeks to explain and predict social phenomena, often employing a quantitative approach where aspects of social life are assigned numerical codes and subjected to in-depth analyses to uncover trends often missed by a casual observer. This approach most often makes use of deductive reasoning, which initially forms a theory and hypothesis, which are then subjected to empirical testing.

The Scientific Method

The essential elements of a scientific method are iterations and recursions of the following four steps:

Characterization (operationalization or quantification, observation and / or measurement)

Hypothesis (a theoretical, hypothetical explanation of the observations and / or measurements)

Prediction (logical deduction from the hypothesis or logical induction from the data)

Testing (informing the validity of the hypothesis by comparing it against carefully gathered, meaningful sensory input)

Characterization

A scientific method depends upon a careful characterization of the subject of the investigation. While seeking the pertinent properties of the subject, this careful thought may also entail some definitions and observations; the observation often demands careful categorization, measurement and/or counting.

Hypothesis Development

A hypothesis includes a suggested explanation of the subject. In quantitative work, it will generally provide a causal explanation or propose some association between two variables. If the hypothesis is a causal explanation, it will involve at least one dependent variable and one independent variable. In qualitative work, hypotheses generally involve potential assumptions built into existing causal statements, which may be examined in a natural setting.

Prediction

A useful quantitative hypothesis will enable predictions, by deductive reasoning, that can be experimentally assessed. If results contradict the predictions, then the hypothesis under examination is incorrect or incomplete and requires either revision or abandonment. If results confirm the predictions, then the hypothesis might be correct but is still subject to further testing. Predictions refer to experimental designs with a currently unknown outcome. A prediction (of an unknown) differs from a consequence (which can already be known). On the other hand, a useful qualitative hypothesis will enable question or critique, by inductive reasoning, of existing and / or taken-for-granted beliefs, assumptions, and theories developed within or beyond scientific settings. 

Testing

Once a prediction is made, a method is designed to test or critique it. The investigator may seek either confirmation or falsification of the hypothesis, and refinement or understanding of the data. Though a variety of methods are used by both natural and social scientists, laboratory experiments remain one of the most respected methods by which to test hypotheses.

Scientists assume an attitude of openness and accountability on the part of those conducting an experiment. Detailed record keeping is essential, to aid in recording and reporting on the experimental results, and providing evidence of the effectiveness and integrity of the procedure. They will also assist in reproducing the experimental results.

Ethics

Ethical considerations are of particular importance to sociologists because of the subject of investigation - people. Because ethical considerations are of so much importance, sociologists adhere to a rigorous set of ethical guidelines. The most important ethical consideration of sociological research is that participants in sociological investigation are not harmed. While exactly what this entails can vary from study to study, there are several universally recognized considerations. 

What Can Sociology Tell Us?

Having discussed the sociological approach to understanding society, it is worth noting the limitations of sociology. Because of the subject of investigation (society), sociology runs into a number of problems that have significant implications for this field of inquiry:

human behavior is complex, making prediction - especially at the individual level - difficult or even impossible

the presence of researchers can affect the phenomenon being studied (Hawthorne Effect)

society is constantly changing, making it difficult for sociologists to maintain current understandings; in fact, society might even change as a result of sociological investigation (for instance, sociologists testified in the Brown v. Board of Education decision to integrate schools)

it is difficult for sociologists to strive for objectivity and handle the subjective components of scientific practice - especially when the phenomena they study is also part of their social life