Realists

• acknowledge that social sciences are possible + desirable

  reject positivist view that science is only concerned with observable phenomena - Keat and Urry argue that science often assumes the existence of unobservable structures

  also means interpretivists are wrong in assuming that sociology cannot be scientific

  science can study unobservable phenomena, then this is no barrier to studying meanings scientifically
• Bhaskar (1998)


  argues that science uncovers underlying structures and mechanisms that we can't see, sociologist do the same for society

  positivists are wrong that science is based on observable evidence
• Andrew Sayer (2000) in science:


  open systems are where not all variables can be controlled and predictions cannot be made

  closed systems reflect to settings such as a laboratories where variables are controllable

  realists believe that it is possible for sociologists to use open systems to explain underlying social causes of human behaviour - used where the processes are too complex to make exact predictions