sociology as a science

• what is a science?

  systematic pursuit of knowledge about the natural world through rigorous testing and hypotheses.
• what makes something scientific?

  • based on empirical data evidence that has been gathered by observations and experiments
  • objective
  • collects quantitative data
  • reliable results
  • follows scientific method
• evidence for sociology being a science?

  official statistics

  • crime statistics
  • birth rate
  • exam statistics
• which theories claim that sociology is a science?

  new right, functionalism, Marxism (positivists)
• advantages of sociology being a science?

  • improves status of subject
  • attracts more funding
  • scientific process means more reliable, valid data
• Comte : positivism & the inductive approach

  • early positivists used inductive approach
  • means data was first collected, studied, analysed and then a theory/ hypothesis composed
  • hypothesis tested and conclusions are drawn
  • if results are repeatable then the hypothesis becomes a social fact
• who are positivists?


  claim sociology is a science as it is based on objective data.
• what does objective mean

  based on facts and not influenced by personal feelings or opinion.
• how do positivists study society?

  by focusing on the macro level

  • observe how social structures of society shape human behaviour.
• what are social facts?

  concepts in society that are objectively and scientifically verifiable.
• give an example of positivists studying social facts

  • functionalists would objectively measure social cohesions through looking at statistics of community activities
  • Durkheim suggested suicide was a social fact that could be measured.
• how does Durkheim's study on suicide show prove sociology is a science?

  • examined different social factors eg religion and community ties to understand their impact on suicide rates.
  • used statistics to draw evidence based conclusions.
• what do interpretivists argue about sociology

  it should not be classed as a science and the study of human society should go beyond empirical and objective evidence.
• what do interpretivists argue that the study for human society should include?

  • opinions
  • emotions

  research cannot establish social facts.
• what do interpretivists believe about human behaviour?

  unpredictable as humans have free will and are unique

  • general theories cannot be established.
• popper argues that sociology should use the deductive approach

  criticises Compe

  • argues that a theory should be structured in a way that allows it to be tested and potentially be proven false = falsification.
  • so sociologists can see if the theory is a good explanation o if it needs to be changed.
• Popper argues that sociological theories are unscientific because they cannot be falsified. Give an example.


  Marxism cannot be falsified as it fails to specify when exactly a proletarian revolution.

  • if a revolution does not happen, supporters could claim it is not the right time for one or blame other factors.
  • supported can adjust their explanations
  • this flexibility makes it impossible to prove theories wrong as there is not clear way to test it
• Douglas had an interpretivist view of suicide. what did he criticise Durkheim for?


  argued Durkheim relied heavily on official statistics and that his approach overlooks the subjective meanings attached to the act of suicide for individuals.

  • eg. kamikaze was a form of honourable suicide.
• Thomas Kuhn states that sociology has no one shared paradigm and therefore it is not a science. what is a paradigm?


  accepted assumptions about the way things are and the way research is done.
• In what ways does sociology not have a shared paradigm?

  • variety of theories that contrast each other eg functionalism and Marxism.
  • methodological differences: qualitative or quantitative.
• why does feminisms not see sociology as a science?

  gender bias- traditional sociology has historically been dominated by male perspectives, leading to a biased understanding of social issues, particularly those affecting women.
• what is Kaplan's perspective on sociology as a science?

  argues that sociology can be scientific, but science itself needs evaluation eg scientists do not always follow a set procedure.
• what is one thing scientists do that Kaplan considers as 'cheating' ?

  keep re running the experiment until desire results are reached.

  • publish it and ignore failed experiments
  • can undermine the credibility of sociology as a science.