positivism & science

what did the founding fathers of sociology describe themselves as?

positivists

who coined the term sociology?

comte

what do positivists believe about science & sociology?

• possible + desirable to apply logic & methods of natural science to sociology

• it will bring true, objective knowledge

• provides basis for solving social problems

what is society made of according to positivists?

social facts

what do positivists believe about reality?

it is patterned

what does durkheim say about reality?

there are real laws that are discoverable that can explain the patterns

what is induction?

the method for discovering the laws that determine how society works?

how does induction work?

• accumulate data via observation & measurement

• we see general patterns

• develop a theory to explain

• claim a general law

what is verificationism?

how inductive reasoning claims to verify a theory

what can the results of induction be used for?

to predict future events & guide social policies

what kind of explanations do positivists prefer?

macro/structural

what method do positivists believe sociologists should use?

the experimental method

what is the experimental method?

• investigator tests hypothesis in systematic & controlled way

• examine each possible causal factor

• observe the effect + exclude other factors

• quantitative data

why do positivists use quantitative data?

it allows them to produce mathematically precise statements about the relationship between the facts they are investigating

what do positivists believe researchers should be?

detached & objective

why is being detached & objective more difficult in sociology?

we are dealing with people so there is a danger of contaminating the research

what kind of quantitative methods do positivists use?

questionnaires, structured interviews, official statistics

who studied suicide to show that sociology was a science with its own distinctive subject matter?

durkheim

what did durkheim use to study patterns in the suicide rate?

quantitative data from official statistics

what are social facts?

forces acting upon members of society to determine their behaviour

what did durkheim conclude about suicide?

• the patterns are social factors

• caused by social facts

• caused by integration & regulation

what did durkheim claim to discover after his study of suicide?

a real law

what is the real law discovered by durkheim?

that different levels of integration & regulation produce different rates of suicide