There are similarities between natural science and sociology in the degree of the amount of control the researcher has over the variables being researched.
Open belief system
Researcher can’t control and measure all the relevant variables and cannot make precise predictions. Too complex or large scale.
Closed belief system
Researcher can control and measure all relevant variables and make precise predictions.
Realists argue that sociologists study open belief systems where the processes are too complex to make exact predictions.
E.g. can’t accurately predict crime rates precisely as too many variables involved.
8 billion people all have free will - hard to predict.
Realists reject positivist view.
Reject idea that science is only concerned with observable phenomena.
Instead, science assumes the existence of unobservable structures e.g. black holes.
Realists reject interpretivist view.
Reject view that sociology is unscientific because meanings are unobservable.
Believe science CAN study unobservable phenomena.
For realists, both NATURAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES attempt to explain causes and effects. Although structures are often unobservable, we can work out they exist by observing their effects.
For example, we don’t physically see social class, but we observe its effects in people’s life chances. In this view, sociology IS Scientific.
