Theory and Methods Questions

Theory and Methods Questions

1. Assess the view that interpretivist methods are the most appropriate methods for researching society

   • Field or social experiments
   • Unstructured interviews
   • Personal Documents
   • Observation
   • Triangulation
   • Relationship between qualitative and interpretivist methods
   • Primary versus secondary data
   • Cause verses meaning
   • Structure verses action
   • Positivism and interpretivism
   • Becker; Blumer; Lemert; Goffman; Mead; Marx; Durkheim; Parsons; Weber; Cicourel; Garfinkel; Gouldner; Berger & Luckmann; Hargreaves; Lacey; J Young; Pearson

2. Assess the contribution of functionalist and New Right theories and research to our understanding of society today

   • Value Consensus
   • Social Order
   • Organic Analogy
   • Consensus versus conflict
   • Socialisation
   • Social Control
   • Goal Attainment
   • Integration
   • Traditional versus modern society
   • The underclass
   • Culture of dependency
   • Bauman; Becker; Davis & Moore; Durkheim; Friedman; Giddens; Gouldner; Malinowski; Marsland; Marx; Merton; Murray; Oakley; Parsons; Webe

3. ‘Sociology can be value-free and should be value-free.’

   • Positvist vs interprevisit
   • Quantative and qualative data
   • Sceintific method
   • Validity
   • Reliability
   • Objectivity
   • Value freedom
   • Postmodernism
   • Comte; Becker; Durkheim; Gouldner; Kuhn; Marx; Popper; Weber; Mouzelis.

4. Assess the view that positivist methods are inappropriate for investigating society

   • Positivist vs interpretivist
   • Quantative and qualitive data
   • Scientific method
   • Reliability
   • Validity
   • Objectivity and value freedom
   • Postmodernism
   • Social facts/social constriction
   • Realism
   • Macro versus micro
   • Atkinson; Becker; Cicourel; Durkheim; Douglas; Garfinkel; Glaser and Strauss; Kuhn; Oakley; Popper; Weber; official statistics on crime; demography; poverty; etc. NB Candidates will be rewarded at all levels for an und

5. Assess the relative importance of the different factors that affect sociologists’ choice of research methods and of topics to investigate.

   • PET's in choice of method and topic
   • Reliability
   • Validity
   • Representative and generalisation
   • Quantative and Qualitative data
   • Hypothetico-deductive methodl
   • Grounded theory
   • Becker; Blumer; Durkheim; Glaser & Strauss; Gouldner; Graham; Oakley; Humphreys; Milgram; Mayo; Tuckett; Weber.
   • Predecents of previous reasearch time
   • Time
   • Cost
   • Reasearcher skills/characteristics
   • Access
   • Preferences of reasearcher
   • Personal and societal values
   • chanced cuircumstances
   • Informed consent
   • Confidentiality
   • Vunrability
   • Danger/harm to reasearcher or participants