Positivism and Interpretivism

What is positivism?

• a sociological approach that believes society can be studied using similar scientific techniques to those used in natural sciences

• they believe there are external factors→ social facts which mould peoples ideas or actions

• phenomena which exist outside individuals and independently of their mind e.g. law, education system

• sooo little to no free will

Who’s our main positivist?

• Durkheim!

• ‘The aim of sociology should be the study of social facts which can in most cases be observed and measured quantitatively..'

• ‘..feelings, emotions and motives of individuals cannot be observed or measured, and should therefore not be studied’

• why? subjective, validity

Why positivism?

• There wont be any ‘hard’ evidence

• Sociology will remain at the level of insights and impressions→ no respect

• Studies are impossible to replicate→ meaning validity decreases

• Findings cant be checked

• Causes cant be found if you cant replicate things

• generalisation cant be made therefore people wont take it seriously

Data and approach for positivism?

• Quantitative data- statistical, numerical data

• Macro approach- large scale, focus on structures in our society

What is interpretivism?

• a sociological approach that emphasises on the idea of people having consciousness involving personal beliefs, values and interpretations

• Internal forces→ Free Will

• Peoples behaviour is influenced by the interpretations and meanings they give to social situations and how people see and understand the world around them

The process interpretivists use?

• Verstehen- the idea of understanding human behaviour by putting yourself in the position of those being studied and understanding their perspective

Why interpretivism?

• The sociologists own view of what is important rather than what may be important to the individuals being researched

• Blind research, lets see what I find out!

• Quantification

Data and approach for interpretivism?

• Qualitative data- feelings, meaning people associate with, consists of words, images→ in depth description and insight into attitudes, values

• Micro approach- individuals studied

What is ethnography?

• Extreme end of interpretivism, based on long term participant observation

• Learning their ways, language, customs

• Living amongst people in close proximity, becoming a part of the community

• Fieldnotes- writing these down!

Examples of a positivist sociological study

• Quantifying social media influence

• Crime rates and economic factors

• Educational achievement and standardized testing

Examples of a interpretivist sociological study

• Symbolic interaction in online gaming communities

• Narrative analysis of life stories

• Cultural significance of tattoos

Positivist research methods

• Non participant observation

• Experiment

• Structured questionnaires

• Formal/ structured interviews

• Comparative methods

• Social surveys

Interpretivist research methods

• Participant observation

• Personal accounts

• Informal/ unstructured interview

• Open-ended questionnaires