9699 · 2.2
Approaches to sociological research flashcards
Revision flashcards for Cambridge 9699 Approaches to sociological research (syllabus 2.2). Flip, recall, then mark a real past-paper question.
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Positivism?
Society has objective social facts; use quantitative methods like natural sciences.
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Interpretivism?
Social action meaningful — qualitative methods to understand actors' views.
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Reliability?
Consistency — same study repeated yields similar results.
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Validity?
Accuracy — measures what it claims to measure.
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Representativeness?
Sample reflects wider population studied.
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Realism (Sayer)?
Unobservable structures (class) exist and cause observable effects.
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Social Facts
Coined by Durkheim, these are external social forces, structures, and norms that shape individual behaviour. They are central to the positivist approach and are treated as real, observable things that can be studied scientifically.
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Verstehen
A German term popularised by Max Weber, meaning deep, empathetic understanding. It is the main goal of interpretivist research: to see the world from the perspective of the social actors being studied to understand their actions.
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Value Freedom
The idea that sociologists should remain impartial and that their personal values should not affect their research design, data collection, or analysis. A core principle of positivism, but heavily critiqued by interpretivists and critical sociologists.
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Methodological Pluralism
The practice of using a range of research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, in a single study. This allows researchers to triangulate findings and gain a more holistic view of a social issue. Often used by realists and some feminists.
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Reflexivity
The process where a researcher constantly reflects on how their own identity, values, and presence might be shaping the research process and findings. It is the interpretivist alternative to the positivist ideal of objectivity.
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Structural Theories
Theories like Functionalism and Marxism that focus on large-scale social structures and institutions (macro-level) and how they shape society and individual behaviour. They are often associated with positivist approaches and quantitative methods.
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Social Action Theories
Theories like Symbolic Interactionism that focus on small-scale interactions between individuals (micro-level) and how they create and interpret their social world. They are associated with interpretivist approaches and qualitative methods.
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Objectivity
The principle that research should be conducted in a value-free way, without the researcher's personal beliefs or biases influencing the findings. It is a key goal for positivists, but interpretivists argue it is impossible to achieve.
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Generalisability
The extent to which the findings from a study can be applied to the wider population. Positivists aim for high generalisability, often using large, representative samples and quantitative methods.