Interpretivism

A sociological perspective that believes that society should be studied by understanding meanings, experiences and social interactions not just statistics

Argue that sociology should be more like humanities than the natural sciences

Key features

Verstehen (Understanding)- Research should aim to understand social actors meanings

Qualitative data- Rich, detailed insight into peoples lived experiences

Subjectivity- Accepts that total objectivity is impossible- researcher values may shape findings

Micro approach- Focus on small scale interactions and meanings

Methods favoured by interpretivists

Unstructured interviews- Deep, flexible responses that reveals personal meaning

Participant observations- Allows researchers to see the world from the subjects point of view

Personal documents- Diaries, letters, social media posts show subjective meaning

Open ended questionnaires- Can generate qualitative insights (though less commonly used)

Evaluation

Strengths-

Provides rich, valid data

Explores real meanings and experiences

Useful for studying hard to measure issues (identity, emotions)

Gives voice to underrepresented groups

Weaknesses-

Small samples- hard to generalise

Less reliable- hard to replicate

Risk of researcher bias and subjectivity

May lack objectivity