Class 9: Methodological Debates PDF

CLASS 9 / Part III: Methodological Debates: Positivism, Interpretivism and Critique Ø SUMMARY: Ø Positivism: Ø Quantitative research methods (continuation) Ø Example of quantitative based research Ø Foundations of quantitative positivist research CLASS 9: Positivism / Quantitative research methods Ø...

CLASS 9 / Part III: Methodological Debates: Positivism, Interpretivism and Critique Ø SUMMARY: Ø Positivism: Ø Quantitative research methods (continuation) Ø Example of quantitative based research Ø Foundations of quantitative positivist research CLASS 9: Positivism / Quantitative research methods Ø Observation through social experiment: Ø Allows the researcher to “control” the situation – holding some variables constant in order to study the effects of change in one variable Ø Suitable for the study of group behaviour and social interaction in a small-scale, laboratory-like setting CLASS 9: Positivism / Quantitative research methods Ø Observation through social experiment examples: Ø Hawthorne effect (1955): human subjects in an experiment change their behaviour simply because they know they are being studied Ø Productivity of workers at Hawthorne not related to the level of light in the factory or other variables, but simply to realizing they are being studied/observed CLASS 9: Positivism / Quantitative research methods Ø Observation through social experiment - examples: Ø Stanford Prison experiment (1971): Ø Studied the power of roles in a contrived situation: guards vs. prisoners Ø After several days, guards became verbally very abusive with the prisoners; prisoners became submissive to those in authority roles Ø Human behaviour is situational; people will conform even to repulsive roles if conditions require (emphasis of situation; downplaying of personality traits) CLASS 9: Positivism / Quantitative research methods Ø Observation through social experiment - examples: Ø Stanley Milgram experiment (1961): Ø “Teachers”, “students”, “experimenters”: the latter telling “teachers” to administer electric shocks to “students” who give wrong answers and even to increase the magnitude of electric shocks Ø Study shows how (some) people will obey authority figures even if this conflicts with their morals / leads to morally reprehensible acts CLASS 9: Positivism / Quantitative research methods Ø Sample: Ø Ø Ø Representative sample: Ø Ø Portion of a population selected to be the subjects of a particular research project; In most cases, a sample is expected to be a microcosm of the whole population in some respect, such that the findings are generalizable Sample that accurately reflects the various attributes (i.e. race, religion, income, age, sex) found in the whole population; representative of all sections of the population Random sample: Ø Sample that is selected purely statistically; for example, every tenth person in a population CLASS 9: Positivism / Quantitative research methods Ø Snowball sample: Ø Sample created through a process whereby the researcher asks the first few interviewees for the names of other individuals who might fit the study, then ask those individuals for names and so on. Ø Unsuited for quantitative research - “selective bias”: study skewed toward particular demographics because people tend to know and recommend others like themselves Ø Helpful especially in the case of qualitative research, often regarding hard-to-reach population: homeless, sex workers etc. CLASS 9: Positivism / Quantitative research methods Ø Survey: Ø Method of research whereby information is gathered from a sample of a population about a specific list of variables and questions Ø Modern survey techniques rely on random sampling (i.e. election polls using a sample of 1500 to 2000 respondents to predict distribution of votes) Ø U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS): uses random sample surveys to provide monthly estimates of marriages, divorces, births, deaths, poverty, employment etc. CLASS 9: Positivism / Quantitative research methods Ø Opinion poll: Ø Sociological survey in which the members of a population sample are asked about their attitudes and beliefs on a wide range of issues, i.e. capital punishment, family statistics, religiosity etc. Ø General Social Survey (GSS) uses a nationwide random sample of at least 1500 respondents to generalize about the whole American population’s opinions CLASS 9: Positivism / Quantitative research methods Ø Formal interview: Ø Method of research whereby subjects are asked a set list of questions on a set list of topics Ø Census: Ø A type of social survey in which the questions are designed to gather information that is descriptive of an entire population Ø 2 types of censuses: interviewer – administered questionnaire & self – administered questionnaire Ø In the U.S. you have the U.S. Census Bureau CLASS 9: Positivism / Quantitative research methods Ø Survey & Census - basic practical characteristics: The survey method requires that a sample of respondents reply to a number of fixed questions under comparable conditions Ø administered by an interviewer who completes a form for each respondent by asking the survey questions; alternatively, a form with the questions is sent to each respondent for self-completion Ø The respondents represent a defined population; if all the members of a population have been interviewed, then a census has been taken Ø CLASS 9: Positivism / Quantitative research methods Ø Survey & Census - basic practical characteristics: Ø a sample survey should be representative of its population; if it is, then we can generalize results from the sample to the population Ø By using the same questions for a sample of respondents, we can make comparisons of individuals within the sample Ø All surveys are “structured” to some extent, meaning they have primarily closed questions; Ø Surveys with open questions (open and conversational form of interviewing) are called “unstructured” CLASS 9: Positivism / Quantitative research methods Ø Survey & Census - basic practical characteristics: Ø Typical answer possibilities within a closed questions questionnaire: Ø “Yes”; “No”; “Don’t know” Ø Strongly agree; Agree; Neither agree nor disagree; disagree; strongly disagree Ø Outstanding; good; adequate; inadequate; very poor CLASS 9: Positivism / Quantitative research methods Ø Survey & Census – advantages: Ø For surveys: quick and cheap collection of data from large samples Ø Allows comparisons: answers to questions are comparable Ø Survey & Census – disadvantages: Ø Surveys can be superficial in measuring sensitive / difficult aspects of human behaviour Ø For this reason, surveys are often based on ante-going “pilot interviews” using a less structured and more conversational method of interviewing probing more deeply into potential replies CLASS 9: Positivism / Quantitative research methods Ø Structured vs. unstructured surveys: Ø Responses to structured surveys are more the products of the mind of researchers rather than of the respondent – corrective: the pilot interviews Ø Unstructured surveys allow for the respondents to speak for themselves (real opinions and attitudes); however, this makes the answers more difficult to quantify, to compare and to analyse statistically CLASS 9: Positivism / Quantitative research methods Ø Example of quantitative based research: Emile Durkheim’s study on the Suicide (1897): Ø Methodology: Ø Explanatory theory / sociological explanation should be based on externally observable factors (not in terms of internal motives, purposes and meanings) Ø Use of large data bases regarding suicide in various countries CLASS 9: Positivism / Quantitative research methods Ø Example of quantitative based research: Emile Durkheim’s study on the Suicide (1987): Ø Theory: Ø General theory: every society has an optimum of social integration which, if crossed, leads to social problems Ø Operationalization of the theory: finding indicators for the used concepts Ø Indicator for ‘social problem’: suicide rate (among others) CLASS 9: Positivism / Quantitative research methods Ø Example of quantitative based research: Emile Durkheim’s study on the Suicide (1897): Ø Theory: Ø Hypothesis 1: decrease in social integration (independent variable) leads to increase in suicide rates (dependent variable) Ø Hypothesis 2: Protestants would have higher suicide rates than Catholics (Protestantism is more individualistic – weaker social integration) CLASS 9: Positivism / Quantitative research methods Ø Example of quantitative based research: Emile Durkheim’s study on the Suicide (1987): Ø Results: Ø Variation in the recorded rates of suicide across territories / countries corresponded to variations in the rate of social integration between religious denominations: Ø Protestant doctrines / practices encouraged individual responsibility (highest rate of suicides) Ø Catholicism offered absolution for sins through the ministration of the priests (lower rate) Ø Jews were living in ghettos: close – knit social bonds (lowest rate) CLASS 9: Positivism / Quantitative research methods Ø Foundations of quantitative positivist research (as shown, implied in Durkheim’s study on Suicide): Ø 1. the hypothetical-deductive model of theory- building: aimed at establishing “laws” of behaviour based on predictable and reliable theories about causal relationships between independent and dependent variables CLASS 9: Positivism / Quantitative research methods Ø Foundations of quantitative positivist research (as shown, implied in Durkheim’s study on Suicide): Ø 2. social phenomena / events (i.e. ‘suicide’) are treated as external “social facts” (Durkheim) or objects, from the outside / from the “outsider position”: cultural meanings, individual purposes, emotions and motives are unimportant CLASS 9: Positivism / Quantitative research methods Ø Foundations of quantitative positivist research (as shown, implied in Durkheim’s study on Suicide): Ø 3. Quantification: the use of quantifiable concepts of observable behaviour like ‘suicide rate’ Ø 4. replication & falsification principle: it has to be possible to replicate the study + it has to be possible to test and falsify the study: the theory is good if it withstands attempts to falsify its main hypotheses CLASS 9 – Positivism Ø Bibliography: Ø “Chapter 2” Ø “A Contemporary Introduction to Sociology. Culture and Society in Transition.; 3rd Edition; Routledge (2018), by Jeffrey C. Alexander, Kenneth Thompson, Laura Desfor Edles, Moshoula Capous-Desyllas (eds.)