research methodology
Key issues
➤ What is sociological research?
➤ What different research methods are available to sociologists?
➤ What are the philosophies that underlie the collection and analysis of data?
➤ Why and in what ways have feminists criticized conventional sociological research?
Why do sociologists do research?
In every society there are many ways that we know what we know – many of which we take for granted. Scott (2002) identifies six basic categories of knowledge:
● Common-sense knowledge – Refers to something everyone knows to be true, for example fire burns.
● Authority-based knowledge – We tend to give a lot of credence to expert sources, such as doctors.
● Experiential knowledge – We develop knowledge based on our own experiences, which can at times differ from knowledge from experts. For example, some parents believe, from their own experience, that autism is linked to the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) immunization, but most medical experts deny such a link.
● Traditional knowledge – Knowledge can also be based on practices passed down through generations to explain and justify many aspects of their lives, for example the Countryside Alliance, a UK organization supporting working and living in the countryside, often refers to ‘tradition’ in support of its beliefs.
● Non-rational knowledge – Based on faith, for example a belief in God.
● Scientific knowledge – Based on systematic, rigorous testing.
The search for truth
Q: How do you get new knowledge?
How do people acquire new knowledge/truth?
People have long been concerned to come to grips with their environment and to understand the nature of the phenomena it presents to their senses. The means by which they set out to achieve these ends may be classified into three broad categories: experience, reasoning and research Far from being independent and mutually exclusive, however, these categories must be seen as complementary and overlapping, features most readily in evidence where
➤ What is sociological research?
➤ What different research methods are available to sociologists?
➤ What are the philosophies that underlie the collection and analysis of data?
➤ Why and in what ways have feminists criticized conventional sociological research?
Why do sociologists do research?
In every society there are many ways that we know what we know – many of which we take for granted. Scott (2002) identifies six basic categories of knowledge:
● Common-sense knowledge – Refers to something everyone knows to be true, for example fire burns.
● Authority-based knowledge – We tend to give a lot of credence to expert sources, such as doctors.
● Experiential knowledge – We develop knowledge based on our own experiences, which can at times differ from knowledge from experts. For example, some parents believe, from their own experience, that autism is linked to the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) immunization, but most medical experts deny such a link.
● Traditional knowledge – Knowledge can also be based on practices passed down through generations to explain and justify many aspects of their lives, for example the Countryside Alliance, a UK organization supporting working and living in the countryside, often refers to ‘tradition’ in support of its beliefs.
● Non-rational knowledge – Based on faith, for example a belief in God.
● Scientific knowledge – Based on systematic, rigorous testing.
The search for truth
Q: How do you get new knowledge?
How do people acquire new knowledge/truth?
People have long been concerned to come to grips with their environment and to understand the nature of the phenomena it presents to their senses. The means by which they set out to achieve these ends may be classified into three broad categories: experience, reasoning and research Far from being independent and mutually exclusive, however, these categories must be seen as complementary and overlapping, features most readily in evidence where