positivism key ideas

• What are positivists aim of sociology?


  To establish social facts.
• What are the core ideas of positivism?

  That there are external forces that shape society social structure and moulds people's ideas and behaviours.

  People are puppets of society.

  Social institutions act as social controls.
• What type of data to positivists use?


  Scientific techniques

  Quantitative data
• What methods of research to positivists use?


  Structured questionnaires

  Structured interviews

  Non participant observations
• Key features of positivist research


  Reliable

  Objective

  Representable

  Generalisable

  Quantitative

  Valid
• Top down approach


  Society influences the individual
• Positivists belief about social institutions

  They create expectations of how individuals should behave so there is social control.
• Puppets of society

  People have patterned behaviours as a result of social structures.
• Social structure


  Produces social forces and laws that people have no control over and have to follow.
• Examples of positivist approaches

  Studying social class

  Social facts and statistics

  Family relationships

  Quantitative data
• What is the positivists approach to research?


  Examining the relationship between different parts of social structures to work out the effect they have on the behaviours of individuals.