Sociology As Science

Answer : The comparative or anthropological method in Sociology involves comparison of various kinds of groups of people in order to find out the differences as well as similarities in their ways of life and thus to find out clues to man's social behaviour. Thus, this method is very favourable to sociologist to ascertain relations and interrelation between different aspect of social life. The another reason for adoption of this method in Sociology is that the experimental ....

Answer : Objectivity is one of the characteristic features of both the natural and social science research methodology. The natural sciences is considered more scientific in approach than the social science because they make high degree of objective studies. On the other hand social sciences are comparatively less objective because of the nature of subject matter. In sociology, the significance of objectivity is of the worth importance because the founding fathers have described it as a scientific ....

Answer : Anti-positivism emphasizes that social reality is viewed and interpreted by the individual herself according to the ideological positions he/she possesses.

Therefore, knowledge is personally experienced rather than acquired from or imposed from outside. The anti-positivists believe that reality is multi-layered and complex and a single phenomenon is having multiple interpretations. They emphasize that the verification of a phenomenon is adopted when the level of understanding of a phenomenon is such that the concern is to probe ....

Answer : Arguments over the degree to which objectivity is possible in sociology are too often couched in terms and ideas already rendered obsolete by the changing consensus as to the nature of knowledge forced upon us by recent developments in biology and physics. This has necessitated the discarding of yesterday’s “truths” (and therefore yesterday’s concept of objectivity), as changing paradigms give new meaning to observed events, and as awareness grows of the feedback effect of researchers ....

Answer : Sociology is a science. Social sciences, like natural and biological sciences, use a vigorous methodology. This means that a social scientist clearly states the problems he or she is interested in and clearly spells out how he or she arrives at their conclusions. Generally, social scientists ground the procedure in a body of existing literature.

This is precisely how other sciences function. Study of society by their very nature cannot be exact like natural and physical ....

Answer : Weber argued that the method of science, whether its subject matter be things or men, always proceeds by abstraction and generalization. Against the positivists, he took the stand that man, in contrast to things, could be understood not only in external manifestations, that is, in behavior, but also in the underlying motivations. Weber emphasized the value-bound problem choices of the investigator and the value-neutral methods ofsocial research.

According to Weber, differences between the natural sciences and ....

Answer : The usual juxtaposition of qualitative research against quantitative research makes it easy to miss the fact that qualitative research itself encompasses at least two traditions: positivist and interpretive approach. Positivist work seeks to identify qualitative data with prepositions that can be tested or identified in other cases, while interpretive work seeks to combine those data into systems of belief whose manifestation are specific to a case.

The differences in interpretive analysis and positivist qualitative work thus ....

Answer : Femininity and masculinity or one’s gender identity refers to the degree to which persons see themselves as masculine or feminine given what it means to be a man or woman in society. Femininity and masculinity are rooted in the social (one’s gender) rather than the biological (one’s sex).

It is important to distinguish gender identity, from other gender-related concepts such as gender roles which are shared expectations of behavior given one’s gender.

Although society emerges from social ....

Answer : Positivistic approach refers to the application of scientific approach in sociology. Auguste Comte was the first sociologist to use positive approach in sociology. He believed in the unity of scientific methods and thought that sociology will also follow it. He believed that social reality resembles physical and natural reality from outside and, therefore, patterns can be discovered and theories can be developed. Comte developed the positivistic approach in response to the ideas of enlightenment.

The thinkers ....

Answer : Functionalist tradition in sociology was started by Durkheim, popularized by Parsons and then improvised by Merton. Functionalists bring in the biological analogy to understand the society. Functionalists assume that society is an integrated whole made up of integrated parts. These parts work in tandem for the benefit of society. They believe that every society has some basic needs and which must be fulfilled for its survival.

They believe that a certain degree of order and stability ....

Answer : Civil society is seen as a social sphere separate from both the state and the market. The increasingly accepted understanding of the term civil society organizations is that of non-state, not-for-profit, voluntary organizations formed by people in that social sphere. This term is used to describe a wide range of organizations, networks, associations, groups and movements that are independent from government and that sometimes come together to advance their common interests through collective action.

Democracy at ....

Answer : Under sociology, scientific study of social incident is being done and this study is based on facts. In this way that incident which occurred in real form and which can be proved is said to be facts. It may be real or abstract or both, and its empirical testing is possible. In sociology, for making theory, facts are the necessary raw material.

Values are those cultural or personal ideals by which any incident or thing is ....

Answer : In the form of separate science sociology emerged in 19th century. During this time, Europe was passing through fast changes due to French and Industrial revolution.

But before French and Industrial revolution, in between 14th to 19th century was the era of commercial and scientific revolution i.e. renaissance had also prepared background of sociology. It is well known that scientific revolution emerged in era of renaissance which created a new angle about the study of nature ....

Answer : According to Goode and Hatt, ‘fact’ is an empirically verifiable observation and are those situations or circumstances concerning which there does not seem to be valid room or disagreement. A ‘fact’ also refers to something actually happened. Example:- It is a fact that British left India in August 15, 1947. It can be subjected to empirical scrutiny and its existence cannot be denied. Thus a ‘fact’ is an objective reality.

On the other hand value constitute ....

Answer : Most important among the necessities of man is the need for life. His life depends on the fulfillment of certain physical conditions such as food, shelter, sex and security. Among them food is primary and all others are secondary. Economics studies these basic needs of man and other aspects connected with need. According to an economist, Alfred Marshal, Economics is the study of activities connected with human life in general and at the same time ....

Answer : Sociology as a science of society has been propounded and discussed by positivistic school of thought.

It starts with the beginning of the study of Sociology itself, and more precisely by Auguste Comte. Comte’s chief work “Positive Philosophy” published in six volumes during 1830-1842 paved the way for establishing sociology as a science of society. He formulated three stages through which human knowledge develops viz. the theological, the metaphysical and the positive or empirical. Comte maintained ....

Answer : Science is a body of systematised knowledge which is based on the sensory observation and empirical data. The chief characteristic of science are: (i) The possibility of concise, consistent and concrete formulation (ii) Capacity to form generalistaion and make predictions and (iii) The possibility of verification of data. The various ways used in scientific method are observation, recording, classification, hypothesis, verification and prediction.

The early sociologists conceived Sociology as a positive science. For example, influenced ....

Answer : One of the important differences between Sociology and Social Anthropology is its subject matter. Sociology studies the interaction of individual and group, social institution of norms and values, culture etc. of the present society whereas Anthropology grew and built its knowledge from Archaeology, Physical Anthropology, Cultural History, Linguistics and study of life of the primitives man. Sociology grew out of the Philosophy of history, Political thought and social surveys. On the other hand, Social Anthropology ....

Answer : A hypothesis, like a theory, is an idea. It is, however more specific than a theory, more concrete and more easily tested. It is hypothesis derived from the theory that is actually tested in scientific research. With the formulation of hypothesis, we give some sort of possible explanation about the fact. A good hypothesis consists of some characteristics. At first the problem is properly defined and a sound perception is made about the nature. ....

Answer : To make a critical interpretation of whether a social phenomena is scientifically studied or not, it seems reasonable to know the nature and characteristics of both the social phenomena and the science. According to L.F. Ward"Sociology is a science of society or social phenomena". The sum and substance of the various other definitions of Sociology is that it is the study of social relationship, social interaction and activities. It is the needs which compel a ....

Answer : By the term "value-free" Sociology, we mean that Sociology is a science which should keep itself away from the question of social values and study social behaviour in its empirical senses. Thus, it is not the concern of the sociologist to point out the goodness and badness of social values and to determine which values are ultimately good. They may only make an empirical studies of the existing institutions. The question of 'What ought to ....