values, objectivity, subjectivity

• values


  beliefs and opinions
• Marx


  for and against values

  saw himself as a scientist, however, never remained value free from idea of communism being the ideal society
• weber


  for and against values

  value relevance e.g choosing research, interpreting data

  values must be kept out of gathering data
• Phenomenology


  idea that the ultimate source of all meaning and value is the lived experience of human beings.
• Gouldner


  value free sociology is impossible and undesirable.

  instead sociologists should state their values before doing research- allows others to judge whether these have interfered with their work
• Becker


  argues both value free and values

  should take side of underdogs - the powerless groups in society
• relativism


  idea that there is no independent way of judging whether any view is truer than the other
• weber


  argued sociologists must take moral responsibility for their research

  cannot ignore the moral issues their work raises by stating value freedom as an excuse.
• myrdal


  against value freedom

  value committed- should 'take sides' by embracing the values and interests of particular groups
• positivists favour objective, quantitative data that is value free and can be researched scientifically
• quantitative data is numerical data which is collected using questionnaires, surveys etc
• subjective data is based on personal opinions or feelings rather than facts