Exploring Research Methodologies: Positivism and Interpretivism

Positivism and interpretivism are two approaches of interpreting social reality, that each employ different methods of research and data collection to better help understand the study of human lived experiences. The positivist-interpretivist debate revolves around the ways in which human behavior should be conceptualized and studied (Pruss 1996: 4). Positivism is the most widely practiced research approach in social science, which regards the nature of social reality independent of consciousness. Positivists believe social reality can be studied independently from the researcher and that social life can be represented using numbers that according to positivists reveal features of social reality. On the other hand, interpretivists favor partipcant observation, interviews and social interaction where the researcher immerses into the informant’s reality to gain knowledge of their everyday human lived experiences.

After having read the first three chapters of “You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking Like A Sociologist,” I easily discovered that I have been a budding sociologist since I began forming my own thoughts. A sociologist questions everything and tries to relate the unknown, and I do that on a daily basis. Three specific ways in which I have noticed myself thinking like a sociologist have involved the Conflict Theory, the Reflection Theory, and the idea of “positivism.”

In this blog I will be explaining the principal sociological perspectives (Marxism, Interactionism, Functionalism and collectivism). The open view in sociology can cause debates, disclosure and sometimes even controversy as we will see in the blog.

Within this assignment there will be a clear demonstration and understanding of the concept of research in relation to the acquisition of underpinning knowledge appropriate to my programme of study. I will also be undertaking a comparative analysis of the nature and validity of quantitative and qualitative research methods. I will also be demonstrating skills in critical analysis of methods of data collection and selection of appropriate methods to informing future working practice. I will also be analyse the ethical considerations in relation to the development and undertaking of research.

The major scientific method in the natural sciences used for collecting data is the laboratory experiment. In Sociology, the major scientific method used by positivists is the social or sample survey, which incorporates the use of the questionnaire and/or structured interview. Positivists also advocate the use of some types of secondary data, particularly official statistics.

The concept of human moral enhancement presents two fears presented by Bostrom. The first is that the concept of becoming enhanced in a posthuman state is degrading, in the sense that becoming posthuman may be harmful to ourselves. Secondly, a posthuman society may pose danger to normal human beings that have not used forms of human enhancement.

The two main stems of sociological concepts are Positivism and Phenomenology. Both Functionalism and Marxism are Positivist theories. This means that philosophies are built by using scientific research methods to

Before we knew exactly what sociology was or where the term came from we were all familiar with the term social physics. That was until August Comte, a French philosopher, invented the word as what we know today as sociology. Sociology is best defined as a systematic study of human society and social interactions. (Kendall, Diana Elizabeth. Sociology in Our Times: Kendall 6th Edition: SOC 101, Volume 1, Chapter 1. Mason, OH: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2006. Print.) Comte believed that there were different ways to study society. He presented the idea of positivism, which is a way of thinking and is based on the assumption that it is possible to observe social life. (By Ashley Crossman Sociology Expert. "Positivism - Definition in the Study of Sociology."

Positivism is a theoretical point of view which concentrates on social facts, scientific methods and quantitative data. The research methods that are commonly used by positivists are questionnaires, structured interviews, structured non-participant observation and official statistics. These methods are used as they are objective and reliable. One sociological study that used positivist methods was Durkheim’s Suicide Study. Durkheim used official statistics to study suicide and demonstrate society as a science with its own distinct subject matter.

The second feature of positivism revolves around its use of statistical data. Using these classifications it will be possible for me to count sets of observable or visible social facts and details which will aids me in producing statistics. For example, I will collect data on social facts concerning the level of depression in different races- such as white and black individuals. I will be basing my research on one hundred white individuals and one hundred black individuals.

Positivism and interpretivism are two approaches of interpreting social reality, that each employ different methods of research and data collection to better help understand the study of human lived experiences. The positivist-interpretivist debate revolves around the ways in which human behavior should be conceptualized and studied (Pruss 1996: 4). Positivism is the most widely practiced research approach in social science, which regards the nature of social reality of independent of consciousness. Positivists believe social reality can be studied independently from the researcher and that social life can be represented using numbers that according to positivists reveal features of social reality. On the other hand, interpretivists favor partipcant observation, interviews and social interaction where the researcher immerses into the informant’s reality to gain knowledge of their everyday human lived experiences.

Analytical Positivism is a school of thought of philosophy of law and jurisprudence, largely developed by eighteenth and nineteenth- century legal thinkers such as Jeremy Bentham, Hans Kelson and John Austin.

The social science paradigm also known as Post positivism consists of testing hypothesis and research questions that are developed through reasoning. This is done through measurements and observation. Social scientists aspire to science and they seek to study human behaviour, interaction and thought in an organized way; which we can then measure, generalize and replicate. Like any research, post-positivism needs to be backed up by evidence. When a social science research sets out a research project, it is their goal to find evidence that can either agree or disagree with the hypothesis or theories. Post positivism, compared to positivism allows more interaction with the participants of the research project and seeks to highlight the relationship between universal properties between the variables. The best way to understand post positivism is by comparing it to positivism and the interpretive paradigm. Compared to positivism, post positivism is more tolerant for value-based information, however is not focused on qualitative information like the interpretive paradigm, instead the research is mainly focused on quantitative data.

Analytical Positivism is a school of thought of philosophy of law and jurisprudence, largely developed by eighteenth and nineteenth- century legal thinkers such as Jeremy Bentham, Hans Kelson and John Austin.

The beginning of knowledge comes from metaphysics, theological and positivism. And these put much on a critical stance in the discourse of method. Little (2011), explains that method is a prescriptive body of doctrines to guide inquiry. The ideal of understanding social world underlies in whether to embrace and use principles and guiding procedures of the natural world where positivism dominates in the epistemological consideration. This method has a considerable influence onto social scientist, in promoting the status of survey research and the quantitative analysis (Atkinson and Hammersley, 2007).