The development of sociology is traced back in the nineteenth century when industrialization resulted in massive social changes and society was characterized by exploitation. Accompanying these social changes were intellectual changes during which science started to enjoy a higher reputation than ever before.
Science appeared to be capable of producing objective knowledge that could be used to solve human problems and increase human productive capacity in an unprecedented way. It was not surprising therefore, that many early sociologists chose to turn to science for a methodology on which to base their subject. However, not all sociologists have agreed that it is appropriate to adopt the methodology of the natural sciences. For these sociologists, studying human behaviour is fundamentally different from studying the natural world, as people possess consciousness, which entails a different methodology other than natural science. Thus on the basis of the above discussion, two broad traditions within sociology could be identified.1. Those
who advocated the use of scientific and usually quantitative methods.
(Positivists)(focused on objectivity)
2. Those
who supported the use of more humanistic and qualitative methods.
(Anti-Positivists)(focused on subjectivity)
Though
in recent years, some sociologists have questioned the need for such a rigid
division between quantitative and qualitative methodology, and have advocated
combining the two approaches.
Quantitative
Research Methods:
Quantitative
research in sociology is largely associated with the ‘positivist tradition’.
Early sociologists belonging to the positivist tradition such as Comte,
Spencer, Durkheim, etc. believed that the methods and procedures of natural
sciences could be adopted in sociology as well. Quantitative research is
associated with a number of techniques
of data collection such as survey, questionnaire, structured interview and
secondary sources of data, etc.
The
characteristics of quantitative research -
Bryman
provides some of the features of quantitative research in sociology that are
discussed below:
1. Social
facts: As a
positivist, Comte believed that the scientific study of society should be
confined to collecting information about phenomena that can be objectively
observed and classified. Comte argued that sociologists should not be concerned
with the internal meanings, motives, feelings and emotions of individuals.
Since these mental states exist only in the person’s consciousness, they cannot
be observed and so they cannot be measured in any objective way. Similarly,
Durkheim also argued that social facts should be treated as ‘things’.
This means that the belief systems, customs and institutions of society – the
facts of the social world – should be considered as things in the same way as
the objects and events of the natural world.
2. Statistical
data: The second aspect of quantitative approach as
advocated by positivists is the use of statistical data. Positivists believed
it was possible to classify the social world in an objective way. Using these
classifications it was then possible to count sets of observable social facts
and so produce statistics. For example, Durkheim collected data on social facts
such as the suicide-rate and membership of different religions.
3. Correlation:
The third aspect of positivist methodology entails
looking for correlations between different social facts. For instance, in his
study of suicide, Durkheim found an apparent correlation between a particular
religion, Protestantism, and a high suicide rate.
4. Causation:
The fourth aspect of positivist methodology
involves a search for causal connections. The quantitative research is highly
preoccupied with establishing the causal relationship between variables. If
there is a strong correlation between two or more types of social phenomena,
then a positivist sociologist might suspect that one of these phenomena was
causing the other to take place. For example, Durkheim in his study of suicide
had explained that low solidarity among the Protestants was the causal factor
for high suicide rate amongst them.
5. Generalization
and Replicability: The
quantitative researcher is invariably concerned to establish that his result of
a particular investigation can be generalized to the larger population.
Positivists like Comte and Durkheim, believed that just as natural sciences
could arrive at universal laws with regard to matter, similarly, laws of human
behaviour can also be discovered in social sciences. They believed that laws of
human behaviour can be discovered by the collection of objective facts about
the social world, by the careful analysis of these facts and by repeated
checking of the findings in a series of contexts (replication).
Positivism
is based upon an understanding of science that sees science as using a mainly inductive methodology. An inductive
methodology starts by collecting the data. The data are then analysed, and out
of this analysis theories are developed. Once the theory has been developed it
can then be tested against other sets of data to see if it is confirmed or not.
If it is repeatedly confirmed (replicated), then positivists like Comte,
Durkheim, etc. assume that they have discovered a law of human behaviour.
Qualitative
Research Methods:
A
significant number of sociologists choose not to use the more scientific
approaches to the study of human behaviour. They prefer to sacrifice a certain
precision of measurement and objectivity in order to get closer to their
subjects, to examine the social world through the perspective of the people
they are investigating. These sociologists sometimes refer to quantitative
researchers as those who “measure
everything and understand nothing.” Qualitative research fundamentally
refers to that approach to the study of the social world which seeks to
describe and analyse the culture and behaviour of humans and their groups from
the point of view of those being studied.
As
we have discussed earlier that quantitative data are data in a numerical form:
for example, official statistics on crime, suicide and divorce rates. By
comparison, qualitative data are usually presented in words. These may be a
description of a group of people living in poverty, providing a full and
in-depth account of their way of life, or a transcript of an interview in which
people describe and explain their attitude towards and experience of religion.
Compared to quantitative data, qualitative data are usually seen as richer,
more vital, as having greater depth and as more likely to present a true
picture of a way of life, of people’s experiences, attitudes and beliefs.
Participant observation,
unstructured interview, focus group discussion, life-history or case study
method are some of the major methods or techniques
of data collection in qualitative research. The main intellectual
undercurrents which tend to be viewed as providing qualitative research with their distinct methodology are-
1.phenomenology- as
explained by Schutz, by a series of common sense constructs , we have pre interpreted
the world which we experience as the reality of our daily lives, which becomes
problematic while doing research. Thus phenomenology attempts to view human
behaviour as a product of how people interpret their world, which resolves the
problem of pre interpretation while observing research.
2.symbolic interactionism- it
views social life as an unfolding process in which the individual interprets
his or her environment and acts on the basis of that only.
3.verstehen- it suggests for the empathic understanding of human behaviour i.e. by putting
yourself in the shoes of actor. It was primarily propounded by weber.
4.ethnomethodology-
study of society ( and how social order is produced) through the process of
interactions. For instance, malionwski spent about 2 years in trobriand island
, new guinea to do this ethnography by observing them.
The
characteristics of qualitative research methods-
Bryman
then expounds some of the features
of qualitative research in sociology, which are discussed below:
1. Empathetic
description of social reality: The
most fundamental characteristic of qualitative research is its express
commitment to viewing events, actions, norms, values, etc. from the perspective
of the people who are being studied.
2. Contextualism:
Qualitative research exhibits a preference for
contextualism in its commitment to understanding events, behaviour, etc. in
their respective context. It is almost inseparable from another theme in
qualitative research, namely ‘holism’ which entails an undertaking to examine
social entities – schools, tribes, firms, slums, delinquent groups,
communities, or whatever – as wholes to be explicated and understood in their
entirety.
3. Emphasis
on processual dimension:
Qualitative research views social life in processual, rather than static terms.
The emphasis on process can be seen as a response to the qualitative
researcher’s concern to reflect the reality of everyday life which, they tend
to argue, takes the form of streams of interconnecting events. The general
image that qualitative research conveys about the social order is one of
interconnection and change.
4. Flexibility:
Qualitative researchers tend to favour a research
strategy which is relatively open and unstructured. Such strategy allows them
access to unexpectedly important topics which may not have been visible to them
had they foreclosed the domain of study by a structured, and hence potentially
rigid strategy.
Some
sociologists, in recent years, have questioned the need for such a rigid
division between quantitative and qualitative methodology and have advocated combining
the two approaches. Alan Bryman has
suggested a number of ways in which a plurality of methods – a practice known
as triangulation – can be useful.
1. Quantitative
and qualitative data can be used to check on the accuracy of the conclusions
reached on the basis of each.
2. Qualitative
research can be used to produce hypotheses which can then be checked using
quantitative methods.
3. The
two approaches can be used together so that a more complete picture of the
social group being studied is produced.
4. Qualitative
research may be used to illuminate why certain variables are statistically
correlated. For example, Durkheim concluded in his study on suicide that the
rate of suicide varies from religion to religion because of their varying degree
of solidarity.
Bryman
believes that both quantitative and qualitative research have their own
advantages. Neither can produce totally valid and completely reliable data, but
both can provide useful insights into social life. He argues that each has its
own place and they can be most usefully combined. Generally, quantitative data
tends to produce rather static pictures, but it can allow researchers to
examine and discover overall patterns and structures in society as a whole.
Qualitative data is less useful for discovering overall patterns and
structures, but it does allow a richer and deeper understanding of the process
of change in social life. And thus bryman gives the concluding remark that both are integral to sociology.
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