Little is known about these groups and therefore a new dimension of social reality can be uncovered, This is achieved by identifying with them through the use of qualitative methods such as participant observation which can reveal the meanings of these marginalised groups. Goffman — the career of the mental patient. Instead of focussing on how powerful groups get to define and measure mental illness, Goffman examined the concept of mental illness through the eyes of mental patient.
Sociology should do more than describe the life of the disadvantaged; it should be committed to ending their oppression. Sociology should not be value free — Myrdal Myrdal argues that it is not only impossible to be value free in research, but that it is also undesirable to do so. Sociology should also not be value free because using qualitative methods to find out about meanings , feelings and actions generates data that is highly valid , insightful and achieves verstehen.
Oakley argues that only by taking an active part in the research process can the sociologist gain the trust of those they research. She argues that sociologists should be open about their bias as shown through her research into motherhood. Evaulation The funding institution may influence the way the research is carried out and can influence the outcomes, as they control the direction of the research as well as the questions asked and not asked, etc.
Personal values can influence the choice of topic. For example. The sociologists may seek career progression to further their reputation and this can influence their choice of topic, the questions asked and how they interpret their findings.
Some may even censor themselves for fear of being too outspoken which could harm their career e. Different groups, cultures and individuals have different views as to what is true. There is not independent way of judging whether any view is truer than any other. There is no single, over-riding truth, just pluralism of truth — every truth is true for the individual who believes it to be true.
Every truth is valid. It neglects for the most part to inform students about the oppressive direction of labour of all sorts of socialist societies, or to keep them in mind of the multiple benefits of a free competitive labour market. It treats the need for economic incentives with contempt. Feminism — Sociology is not value free because it is biased against women.
Interpretivism — Sociology Cannot and Should not aim to be value free. Consequently, it is just as important to look at what sociologists do not investigate as what they do — Sociologists are not necessarily immune to ideological hegemony. Gomm argues that social research always has social and moral implications.
Therefore Sociology inevitably has a political nature. Gouldner , along similar lines to Gomm, argues that it is impossible to be free from various forms of value judgment in the social sciences. Those who claim to be value free are merely gutless non-academics with few moral scruples who have sold out to the establishment in return for a pleasant university lifestyle. Becker argues that Sociology should side with the disadvantaged.
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. According to Alvin Gouldner value-free principle did enhance the autonomy of sociology where it could steadily pursue basic problems rather than journalistically react to passing events and allowed it more freedom to pursue questions uninteresting either to the respectable or to the rebellious. It made sociology freer as Comte had wanted it to be -to pursue all its own theoretical implications.
Value free principle did contribute to the intellectual growth and emancipation of the enterprise. Value-free doctrine enhanced freedom from moral compulsiveness; it permitted a partial escape from the parochial prescriptions of the sociologists' local or native culture. Effective internalization of the value-free principle has always encouraged at least a temporary suspension of the moralizing reflexes built into the sociologist by his own society.
The value-free doctrine has a paradoxical potentiality; it might enable men to make better value judgments rather than none.
It could encourage a habit of mind that might help men in discriminating between their punitive drives and their ethical sentiments. However in practice it has been extremely difficult to fulfill this goal of value neutrality.
Values creep in various stages in sociological research. According to Gunnar Myrdal total value neutrality is impossible. We need view points. For example, he lost a close friend to suicide, influencing his decision to study the topic: that is not purely objective and value free. Interactionists argue that sociologists need to find the subjective views of their subjects. However, Weber still argued that the sociologist should remain objective and put aside their own values and opinions when conducting their research.
This is an interesting balancing act. The sociologist should recognise that their subjects have values and should seek out the subjective views of their subjects. At the same time, the sociologist should keep their own values out of their research and analysis. It is not their role to make judgements about their subjects.
Marxists and feminists take a different view. They conduct research for a reason, based entirely on their values: their political opinions. They argue that sociology should be motivated by a desire to make society better.
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