Positivist Interpretivist and Postmodern approaches We know that
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Positivist, Interpretivist and Post-modern approaches We know that Sociologists study societies, but HOW do they study them?
A. Positivism (Positivist) • ______ created and loves positivism • One should study sociology in the same way that one studies the natural world, using the scientific method.
Scientific Method (page 9 -10) • Identify a problem • Do a literature review • Formulate a hypothesis • Design a research plan • Collect data • Analyze data • Create a conclusion
Scientific Research (page 12) 1. 1. Empirical: uses observation and experience, not just logic 2. 2. Theoretical: create theories from observations 3. 3. Cumulative: build on existing theories 4. 4. Ethical: 1. 2. 3. Communal: share the results Non-biased: objective Skeptical: open to criticism 5. 5. Systematic: follows steps 6. 6. Reliable: can be repeated by someone else and get the same 7. results 8. 7: Valid: measures what it is supposed to measure
B. Interpretivism (Interpretivist) • Anti-positivism • Different people in different situations will interpret what is happening different ways. • Researchers should experience the world the way the person they are studying experiences the world • Empathy: sharing another’s feelings, living life “in their shoes”
1. Planning 2. Data collection 4. Evaluation 3. Data analysis
Differences between Positivism and Interpretivism Positivism Interpretivism • - Study from without • - Study from within • - Quantitative • - Qualitative • - Objective • - Subjective • What is one strength and one weakness of positivism? • What is one strength and one weakness of interpretivism?
Post-modernism (1970 spresent) (Post-modernist) • A sociological research method that studies how people create narratives (stories) and how people understand the world around them. • Collect narratives, not data. • The narratives are not true or false. They are. • Not rational, not empirical. Not antiscience either, though
Recap • Positivism: A sociological research method that uses the scientific method to produce objective, quantitative results. • Interpretivism: A sociological research method that requires the researcher to subjectively understand how people interpret/experience situations. The researcher becomes part of the study and produces qualitative results. • Post-modernism: A sociological research method that studies how people create narratives (stories) and how people understand the world around them. Nonscientific
Discussion Questions • Which of the approaches (positivism, interpretivism, post-modernism) would you use to study the following? • 1. I want to understand how it feels to live in a slum. • 2. I want to learn who is happier, Javanese people or Madurese people. • 3. I want to hear the stories of WWII survivors and how their experience in concentration camps affected their belief in God. • 4. You want to learn about smoking. How would each of the approaches (positivism, interpretivism, post-modernism) learn about smoking? • 5. You want to learn about people’s first dates. • 6. Which of the Sociologists would be positivists? Interpretivists? Postmodernists? Neither?
