Sociologists face many dilemma’s when researching such a
complex issue of society, there may be theoretical considerations such as
whether to use Positivist, quantitative methods for reliability and
generalisability to conclude social facts or Interpretivists methods such as
qualitative, in depth observations for validity and meanings. Positivists
believe society is an external entity independent of individuals and therefore
see it can be examined similar to that of the natural world using the natural
science methods whilst Interpretevists believe society is constructed from
peoples meanings and interactions which need to be interpreted to be fully
understood, therefore the type of method and topic will differ. There are other
theoretical factors such as perspective which will determine the topic studied,
for example Marxists will always focus on class inequality and Feminist’s will
focus on gender imbalances as this is the focus of their perspective. Other
factors include practical issues of time, funding and accessibility whilst
ethical considerations may alter the method used, ethical issues are
particularly important when studying people as minimising harm to the
participant is a key part of choosing a method.
It could be argued practical issues are very important as in
order to actually carry out research you must have the funds and means
available. A practical issues for interpretivist methods such as covert
participant observation could be time, as James Patrick found in his research
into Glasgow gangs, it takes time to build up trust with the group you are
observing in order for them to fully believe your deception and allow you into
their secretive group. The researcher must spend months training for the
research in order to be able to seamlessly fit in with a deviant group and the
actual research could also be lengthy meaning the sociologist is away from
their normal life for a long period of time which may cause them some distress.
Another practical issue is that of funding, longitudinal studies often incur
high costs and interviews and observation requires funds to train the
researcher. Positivist methods also incur costs, despite the factual,
quantitative nature of them often gaining funds from governments or TNC’s, such
as the expense of hiring a lab for an experiment or the equipment used in the
experiment for instance Milgram would have had to fund the machinery used for
deception in his study of obedience. Length of time available for the research
is an important factor as if there is little time it may be more suitable to
use short interviews rather than longitudinal observation. Funding is equally
important as without the money to carry out the research no study can take
place, therefore if a sociologist has little funds themselves or grants they
may be forced to choose a less suitable but less costly research method such as
questionnaire’s which Interpretivists condemn as unable to gauge the true
meanings from.
Ethical
considerations are paramount for the method choice in sociology, as
sociologists are studying human beings they are under legal and moral
obligations to minimise psychological and physical harm to their participants.
Some sociologists and psychologists such as Milgram, neglect ethical concerns or
psychological harm and even emotional trauma due to the results drawn from the
research being so influential and important such as explaining obedience during
the Holocaust. This suggests whilst ethical concerns are an important factor a
further factor which may dilute ethical concerns is will the study bring to
light an influential and crucial issue in society that is worth breaking
ethical conduct. Interpretivists do not choose to use laboratory experiements
due to ethical issues, for example when studying the natural sciences in a lab you are studying
inanimate objects that can easily be manipulated however when studying humans manipulation
is considered ethically wrong and thus they condemn the Positivist method of
experiments as inappropriate for the study of humans as it could cause harm to
the participant. Other ethical issues involve deception which is used in
covert observations, many object to the use of deception as it is harmful to
participants for example Laud Humphries observation “the Tea room trade” used
deception to enter the lives of vulnerable men who if found out could be prosecuted as
homosexuality was illegal at the time, this raises a plethora of ethical issues
of deception, mistrust, power with the researcher, moral dilemma regarding
reporting to the police or protecting confidentiality and possible disruption
of the men’s lives if they were to be exposed. Ethical concerns also
determine the topic of study as Liazos suggested sociology is concerned with
studying the “nuts, sluts and perverts” of society which involves taboo
subjects of sexuality, prostitution and paedophilia however these cause many
ethical concerns of safety,
a researcher may choose to study less controversial topics due to the ethical
concerns involved in such sensitive and taboo areas, however this means
leaving much of society untouched. Ethical concerns are minimised in positivist
research such as questionnaires, therefore sociologists must carefully choose
their method based on ethical concerns as they have a duty to protect their
voluntary or involuntary participants.
Theoretical factors are of high importance when choosing a
method, for example a Positivist which is usually associated with structural
theories such as Functionalist Durkheim, sees society as an external structure which can be
studied objectively to find social facts and laws which govern our behaviour.
They therefore take a macro
approach which allows them to study large samples which create generalisability.
Being able to generalise
is a key outcome of a Positivist research as they are seeking social facts that
can be applied to wider society, similarly being able to use objective
methods such as questionnaires and official statistics as Durkheim used in his
study of suicide is a factor determining a Positivist’s choice of method as
they have clear conclusions and advantages from the method they want to draw.
Similarly Interpretevist choice of method is affected by their theoretical
stance as wanting to study human interactions to see how people interpret the
world and the meanings they attach to symbols. This means they must take a
micro approach to study on a small scale, their goal is not to generalise but rather to gain in
depth insight and thus they choose qualitative methods which are unique and
must be interpreted to find individual meanings. Theoretical stances are
important to the choice of method as they involve the conclusions a sociologist
wants to draw for example finding social facts or finding meanings which has an
impact on the choice of study also for example Positivists may wish to study
large institutions such as religion which can influence individuals within the
structure of society whilst Interpretevists may study interactions in a bar
scenario to find the meaning behind casual relationships , this is perhaps the
starting point of the sociologists choice.
Theoretical
factors are not isolated to Positivism and Interpretivism but to perspective
also, whilst Marxists and Functionalists are structural, positivist
sociologists in essence their topic of study will be greatly influenced by
their theory of society. For example Marxists are concerned with class
inequalities and therefore the topic they choose to study will always be
interested in class for instance looking at working class attitudes in
education like Paul Willis or class divides within the criminal justice system
or how the family serves the needs of capitalism which fuels class
inequalities. Feminists
such as liberal feminists are more concerned with patriarchy not poverty and
therefore will focus on female experiences in society in contrast to looking at
class. A theoretical perspective ultimately influences the topic of
study as the topic must be
relevant to the theory or the research would be pointless. Similarly, a
perspective can determine the type of method used, for example Feminists argue positivist methods of
structured interviews are oppressive and unequal, a reflection of patriarchy,
therefore they often choose focus groups to study females as this is a more
natural female environment and equalises power which is unequivocally influenced by their
theoretical perspective which condemns patriarchy. Perspective greatly
influences both the method used and the topic of study and could be seen as the
beginning of sociological research as sociologists often form a theory and then
wish to test or gain evidence that supports this theory.
There are a multitude of factors to take into consideration
when choosing both method and topic for sociological research the most
important are possible theoretical stances of Positivism and Interpretivism
which often determines the type of method and perspectives which determines the
topic of study as they wish to expose the inequalities or consensus in society
through their research, studying topics which specifically link to their theory.
Issues of practicality however are important as in order to carry out
meaningful, valid and reliable research you must have the suitable method
choice which is reliant on funding and time as well as accessibility to your
subject. Ethical issues may be argued as the most important over all other
issues as it addresses the impact of research on the participant, highlighting
how sociological research must not be harmful. When choosing a method many
factors are neglected for another when it would be most beneficial to
compromise and consider all factors in the method and choice of topic.
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