Doing Sociology: Research Methods
Class 11 Sociology · Introducing Sociology · Chapter 5
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Summary
What makes a sociologist a social scientist is not how much they know but how they acquire their knowledge — through method, the procedures by which knowledge is gathered. Because sociologists study the very social world they live in, objectivity is harder than in the natural sciences: there is the risk of personal bias, many competing versions of the truth, and multiple theoretical paradigms within the discipline itself. Sociologists guard against bias through self-reflexivity — continuously examining their own ideas and feelings, documenting all procedures and citing sources so others can retrace the steps and check the conclusions, and openly stating features of their own background that could bias the work. Objectivity is therefore a continuous goal rather than a finished result. Sociology uses multiple methods, classified as quantitative or qualitative, observing behaviour or interpreting meaning, using secondary or primary data, and micro or macro in scale; combining methods is called triangulation. Participant observation or fieldwork, central to social anthropology since Malinowski's Trobriand study, involves living among a community for a long period, learning its language, making a census and genealogy, relying on key informants and keeping detailed field notes; in Indian sociology it shaped village studies. Its strength is rich insider knowledge; its weakness is small coverage and the single observer's voice. The survey studies a large population through a carefully chosen representative sample, using stratification and randomisation, accepting a margin of sampling error. The interview is a flexible guided conversation between researcher and respondent, often supplementing other methods.
Doing Sociology: Research Methods
Key terms
Reflexivity
The researcher's ability to observe and critically analyse their own attitudes, ideas and feelings during research.
Objectivity
The goal of producing unbiased knowledge based on facts, pursued as a continuous process in sociology.
Participant observation
Fieldwork in which the researcher lives among a community for a long period to learn its whole way of life.
Survey
A method of obtaining a wide-ranging overview of a large population from a carefully chosen representative sample.
Sampling and randomisation
Drawing a representative subset of a population, with stratification of sub-groups and selection of units purely by chance.
Interview
A guided, flexible conversation between researcher and respondent, lying between a fixed questionnaire and open observation.
Extra questions & answers
Try one from this chapter
What chiefly distinguishes a sociologist from a lay person?