Sociological Research: Positivist, Interpretive and Critical Approaches

Vocabulary flashcards covering the definitions and key concepts of the three main approaches to conducting sociological research.

Sociology

The study of human society and its patterns.

Positivist sociology

A branch of sociology that studies the rules governing behavior in society through a scientific lens to find the natural laws of human behavior.

Interpretivist sociology

An approach that looks at the way society is shaped by interpretations of the world and how people react to those interpretations.

Critical sociology

A branch of sociology that focuses on studying society in order to change it for the better and solve social problems.

Max Weber

A sociologist who stressed that researchers should set aside their own value systems and take the values of the culture they are studying seriously.

Natural laws of human behavior

The positivist concept that certain mathematical or universal forces work on societies in a manner similar to gravity.

Positivist research tools

Hypothesis testing tools used to analyze social forces, specifically surveys and statistical analysis.