Values

• What does value free mean?

  -facts can and should be seperated from values- sociology should be based on fact rather than values- objective- free from personal values
• What does Durkheim think about value free sociology?

  -Durkheim-sociology should use methodology similar to that used in the physical sciences - sociology should be a science- facts can be seperated from values- Durkheim believed that an objective, value free science of society was both possibe and desirable
• What do value free ideas assume from natural sciences?

  -they use procedures that are objective and free from the researcher's own values and conclusions based on fcatual evidence collected in an unbiased way
• What do Positivists argue about value free research?

  -researcher's values have no effect on the findings and this should apply to sociology- sociology same as science= they are studying and measuring a set of totally independant phenomena and constructing and testing hypothesis- also refer to social facts = statistics from surveys and official publications
• What is positivism?

  the search for laws of social behvaiour using the logic and method of the natural sciences- emphasises the scientific characteristics of reliability, objectivity, and quantitifiable data
• What do Positivists believe?

  -social institutions create expectations on how individuals should behave and they limit their choices- emotions cannot be measured therefore should not be studied- need evidence to make generalisations- large scale, macro approach- quantitative data
• What do Marxists believe regarding value free sociology?

  -social research can be performed objectively if science methodology is applied (despite having very different views about society to Durkheim)
• What did Marx Weber believe as sociology being value free?

  -like positivists and marxists= sociological reseach should be value free- BUT- sociological research can never have complete value freedom- once a research topic has been selected the research can be performed objectively- science methods would have to be altered in order to be applied to the social world = people mean something when they interact with each other
• Can sociology be value laden?

  -impossible to avoid any influence of values completely eg perspective of researchers, the perspective they hold and have learnt to interpret- participant observers must have a framework for identifying what they should look at and interpreting the significance of what they see- without a theoretical framework it is not possible to know what to observe- sociological research is based on researcer's assumptions
• What do interpretivists argue in terms of value laden sociology?

  there is no such thing as an objective truth in the social world- social reality and knowledge are subjectively constructed
• What so Interpretivists believe?

  -people are active, conscious beings who act with a purpose- individual behaviour in everyday situations is the main focus - researchers need to get personally involved with people through conversations to understand the motives behind their actions- behaviour is influenced by the interpretatios and meanings they give to social situations - in depth small scale researcg, micro approach- do not want to generalise- qualitative data
• What stages do Interpretivists argue in which values influence in the research process?

  EVERY

  choice of topic= personal values

  Choice of method= theoretical values

  During research=structuring of questions and perceptions of responses

  Publication= judgements
• What does Gouldner believe?

  no such thing as value free sociology - values of the reseacher will shape the researchers selection of problems and their preference for certain hypotheses- all research should be performed rigorously and tested- all researchers have personal ambitions and career goals- their desires to be published influence whole of research process
• What does Becker believe?

  -cannot be value free- no matter what perspective a researcher takes it will be bias toward one side of the research- researcher's will never be neutral and value free because we are all human and have emotions that will get in the way :(
• What does Gomm believe?

  -social research always has social and moral implications - the attempt to divorce themselves from the consequences of their research findings is simply an evasion of responsibility
• How does sociologists deal with values in research?

  even though research cannot be completely value free- -need to strive for objectivity and reliable data- values and personal prejudices should never be allowed to enter the research process- conclusions based on evidence- must examine ethics of research