Introduction to Social Research

1. Introduction to Social Research

2. What are the Social Sciences? • the Social Sciences engage in the scientific study of human behaviour • the main focus is the study of social interaction, social groups and society

3. Social Sciences • Social sciences comprise various disciplines: • Economics • Sociology • Psychology • Anthropology • Political Science • Cultural Studies, etc.

4. Key Problem of Classical Sociology • the origin and persistence of social order (given that the state of nature is ‘a war of all against all’)

5. Orientation of Sociology • Sociology is interested in 'human social interaction as people take one and another into account as each behaves toward the other'. • It analyses 'systemic units of interaction within social groups, social relations and social organizations'.

6. What are the Object Domains of Classical Sociology? • modern society • Modernity (‘dual revolutions’) • integration, cohesion, solidarity (stability) • deviation, fragmentation, conflict (change)

7. Key Concepts of Sociology • classes/social groups • integration, solidarity, cohesion, trust • deviance, disintegration, divergence, conflict • stability • transformation • revolution • differentiation

8. Economic Sociology definition: the sociological perspective applied to economic phenomena elaborate: the application of the frames of reference, variables, and explanatory models of sociology to that complex of activities which is concerned with the production, distribution, exchange, and consumption of scarce goods and services.

9. Economic Sociology Key elements: • personal interaction (patterns, underlying norms, e.g., non-contractual side to contractual relations) • groups (interest groups, classes, corporate groups, social movements) • social structures (institutions, norms rules, culture) • social controls (norms, sanctions, values) • social networks • cultural contexts

11. The Emergence of Sociology as a Science : A concise history • Early modernity (19th century): Dual political and economic revolutions • the problem of integration and social order (Gemeinschaft – Gesellschaft) • The ‘social question’ (late 19th century)

12. The problem of Integration and Social Order Traditional Society Modern Society Anonymity of social relations Contract Exchange for money Innovation Novelty Progress Secular Individualism Private property • Famility relations, friendship • Customs • Barter • Traditions • Habits • Inertia • Religion • Man as social man • Comunal property

13. The ‘Social Question’ • The social problems emerging with the dynamic periods of transformation wrought by the Industrial Revolution: • Poverty • Inequality • Labour conditions • Worker’s health • Urban problems • Social inclusion and public health

14. The Emergence of Sociology as a Science: A concise history • Economic sociology: - understanding of capitalism and the Great Transformation of society (Durkheim, Weber, Polanyi) - role of wage labour in modern society - class relations/class conflict

15. The Emergence of Sociology as a Science : A concise history • Sociology: establishment and expansion • the question of integration and social order (‘organic solidarity’, legitimacy) • the question of the integration of the new masses

16. The Emergence of Sociology as a Science: A concise history • A strong emphasis on the empirical study of ‘social facts’. • The observation of new social phenomena in modern society (organic solidarity, anomie, legimitation of power) • The emergence of dual objective: 1. the study of objective social facts; 2. the study of subjective meaning-giving

17. Sociology as a Science: A Concise History • Post- or late Modernity: the transformation of modern societies • questioning of methodological nationalism • post-industrial society (disintegration of classes, individual plural identity, increasing cross-societal interaction) • post-society?

18. Four ‘knowledge paradigms’ 1. positivism, post-positivism 2. constructivism 3. critical theory 4. pragmatism

19. Positivism, Post-positivism • referred to as the ‘scientific method’, ‘quantitative research’, or ‘ empirical science’ • positivism was at the basis of classical sociology, in order to enhance its scientific status • emphasis on relation between causes and effects, experimental research or objectively ‘controlled’ forms

20. Positivism, Post-positivism • reductionistic in its emphasis on few variables and parsimony • knowledge generated by careful obsefvation and measurement of objective reality • researcher checks theory with reality

21. Constructivism • became a contender view of sociology in the early 20th century • individuals are seen as developing subjective meanings of their experiences (rather than being directly stimulated by external reality) • researcher looks for complexity of meanings, rater than narrowing down meanings in few categories

22. Constructivism • strong reliance on participants’ views, and interactive construction of meaning • researcher constructs theory from observations of meaning-constructions by social actors

23. Critical theory • A third approach, emerging first in the 1920s and 30s, is a critical approach towards social reality. • The emphasis is on exposing social reality as oppressive for marginalized groups. • There is thus an explicit normative touch to critical theory in that its advocates an action agenda for political reform.

24. Critical theory • Specific issues addressed are empowerment, inequality, domination, oppression, and alienation. • Participants' views in this regard (but not always, see marxist tradition) can be of primary importance in empirical research.

25. Pragmatism The approach is grounded in the pragmatist philosophical tradition (Dewey, Pierce, Mead, James). • Knowledge claims arise out of actions, situations, and consequences rather than being a prioristically defined.

26. Pragmatism • The emphasis in social research is on “what works” and on solutions to problems. • Pragmatist research is thus neither confined to objectivity or to meaning-construction, but refers to both, when appropriate in dealing with the research questions.