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(AQA) A2 Sociology *SCLY3 + SCLY4* | 2016 Official Thread
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Hey everyone, quick question, does anyone remember the name of the 2 sociologists who conducted the study where they filled in applications forms for the same job but used different identities each time - they found out that those from ethnic backgrounds were less likely to get the job....
"Sociology cannot be and should not be objective and value free"
There have been many assumptions that sociology is a science because there are ideas that science is objective and value free. Positivists believe that science is and should be objective, as it provides meaning and helps them understand the world better. (external reality)
Positivists such as Comte and Durkhiem argue that due to the Enlightenment, a better society can be produced. Comte and Durkhiem argued that society can be studied and can be made better through the use of science being objective and value free. They believe that their job as sociologists is to uncover the truths and laws of society. They would do this by using quantitative data and explain what that means for society. Comte and Durkhiem argue that sociology is free from values and bias so therefore the sociologists are in a position to suggest what is best for society.
Furthermore, Marx can be considered to be a positivist, because he favours a scientific approach towards the study of society. He argued that capitalism would ultimately lead to the alienation of the working class and ultimately cause a revolution, therefore capitalism would be replaced by communism. Marx would prefer to use quantitative data as it seeks to discover laws of cause and effect, that predict our behaviour. By producing mathematically precise statements it allows sociology to be value free and objective.
On the other hand, Weber argues that values are very important to sociological research. He came up with the idea of Interpretivism and Social Action Theory. He argued that social facts cannot tell us how or why society should work. For example, there are more divorces occurring, but it does not mean that people disregard marriage. Another example by Mead, suggests that a driver, interprets a 'red light' to be stop but they do not have to stop there. This shows that behaviour has to be interpreted and supports the view that sociology cannot be and should not be value free or objective.
Also, Goulder argued that sociologists are more likely to be "problem makers" rather than "problem takers". This means that sociologists will try and focus on what they believe is right, which creates more issues if they find anomalies because that would mean that they cannot generalize. an example would be that if there was a lake full of white swans, it would only need one black swan to ruin the generalization. If a study cannot be generalized, it cannot be objective or value free. Therefore, Goulder argues that sociology cannot be and should not be value free or objective.
In addition, Philo and Miller (2000) argue that research is dedicated to whoever is funding it. For example, if a big company want more research on drugs, they would have a much higher budget which allows the researcher to get more quantitative data. This money and research is only gathered to help big corporate businesses earn money and remain rich. This is different to Becker, and he looked at the working class as the 'underdogs' and he argued that we do not know how they feel and this allows a new dimension to be uncovered. This suggests that sociology should take an interpretivist approach and sociology should not be and could not be value free or objective.
In conclusion, sociology should not be and could not be objective and value free because sociology is the study of human behaviour and how they interact within their society. This allows for many interpretations to take place and there is no right or wrong answer.
There have been many assumptions that sociology is a science because there are ideas that science is objective and value free. Positivists believe that science is and should be objective, as it provides meaning and helps them understand the world better. (external reality)
Positivists such as Comte and Durkhiem argue that due to the Enlightenment, a better society can be produced. Comte and Durkhiem argued that society can be studied and can be made better through the use of science being objective and value free. They believe that their job as sociologists is to uncover the truths and laws of society. They would do this by using quantitative data and explain what that means for society. Comte and Durkhiem argue that sociology is free from values and bias so therefore the sociologists are in a position to suggest what is best for society.
Furthermore, Marx can be considered to be a positivist, because he favours a scientific approach towards the study of society. He argued that capitalism would ultimately lead to the alienation of the working class and ultimately cause a revolution, therefore capitalism would be replaced by communism. Marx would prefer to use quantitative data as it seeks to discover laws of cause and effect, that predict our behaviour. By producing mathematically precise statements it allows sociology to be value free and objective.
On the other hand, Weber argues that values are very important to sociological research. He came up with the idea of Interpretivism and Social Action Theory. He argued that social facts cannot tell us how or why society should work. For example, there are more divorces occurring, but it does not mean that people disregard marriage. Another example by Mead, suggests that a driver, interprets a 'red light' to be stop but they do not have to stop there. This shows that behaviour has to be interpreted and supports the view that sociology cannot be and should not be value free or objective.
Also, Goulder argued that sociologists are more likely to be "problem makers" rather than "problem takers". This means that sociologists will try and focus on what they believe is right, which creates more issues if they find anomalies because that would mean that they cannot generalize. an example would be that if there was a lake full of white swans, it would only need one black swan to ruin the generalization. If a study cannot be generalized, it cannot be objective or value free. Therefore, Goulder argues that sociology cannot be and should not be value free or objective.
In addition, Philo and Miller (2000) argue that research is dedicated to whoever is funding it. For example, if a big company want more research on drugs, they would have a much higher budget which allows the researcher to get more quantitative data. This money and research is only gathered to help big corporate businesses earn money and remain rich. This is different to Becker, and he looked at the working class as the 'underdogs' and he argued that we do not know how they feel and this allows a new dimension to be uncovered. This suggests that sociology should take an interpretivist approach and sociology should not be and could not be value free or objective.
In conclusion, sociology should not be and could not be objective and value free because sociology is the study of human behaviour and how they interact within their society. This allows for many interpretations to take place and there is no right or wrong answer.
Original post by QUIETONE
Here is the essay..hope it helps - and I left out 3 paragraphs from this essay because it was quite time consuming to type up but if you do want to see them, do let me know i can upload them. 
What grade is that essay
Original post by ellie0497
What is the likelihood ethnicity would be repeated for the crime and deviance paper?
I'd say pretty unlikely as it was on the 2015 paper, but because there will only be a couple more papers on the old spec the examiners might just throw anything in
I wouldn't really focus on it too much though, maybe just briefly revise it?Original post by animaria
What grade is that essay
My teacher didn't give this question a grade, my teacher just marked it and gave it back to me.
Original post by animaria
Does anyoen have any examples of a state crime essay question, age ones and also human rights. Not necessarily answers to these questions but just the questions would be v greatful. Will be veryyyyyy appreciated. Thanks
a) using material from item b and elsewhere, assess sociological explanations of ethnic differences in both offending and victimization.
b) using material from item b and elsewhere, assess sociological explanations of gender in both offending and victimization.
Original post by QUIETONE
a) using material from item b and elsewhere, assess sociological explanations of ethnic differences in both offending and victimization.
b) using material from item b and elsewhere, assess sociological explanations of gender in both offending and victimization.
b) using material from item b and elsewhere, assess sociological explanations of gender in both offending and victimization.
Graciasssss
I'm so stressed too! My teacher is so far behind, we've done C&D, but still have some of beliefs and society to do and sociological theory! I'm basically teaching myself the stuff and I'm finding it hard! Anyone else feel like they're behind??
Original post by lornalangton
I'm so stressed too! My teacher is so far behind, we've done C&D, but still have some of beliefs and society to do and sociological theory! I'm basically teaching myself the stuff and I'm finding it hard! Anyone else feel like they're behind??
We've only just finished beliefs and we're having a mock for it soon (I think) our beliefs teacher hasn't been here to finish it so we had to self teach ideology and science. We finished C&D a while back, but we haven't finished sociological theory yet there's a couple more topics left. I'm not feeling stressed about finishing content because our teacher has reassured us we'll finish in time, I'm just stressed about revision
Does anyone have any predictions for what might come up for crime and deviance? Is anyone actually doing Global Development as well, feel like my class is the only class doing it!
Original post by animaria
Does anyone have a model answer to this question "Assess sociological explanations of the rise of religious fundamentalism (33 marks)" Need a outline on what to include thanks
Brief outline...
1. Definition of fundamentalism- literal interpretation, us vs the world mentality, tradition vs modernity, back to basics and believe that their religion has been watered down and see these as a threat. Conservative force and against social change.
2. Examples of fundamentalism e.g. Al Qaeda, the New Christian Right, ISIS etc.
3. Why is it rising? So secularization, back to basics, when there is a single religious text people can argue, lack of central authoritarian control leaving room for alternative interpretations, common enemy (give examples- Hamas vs Israeli army or ISIS vs the West) and when there is a supply of recruits (e.g. unemployed men?). Here you can add sociologists such as Armstrong (fundamentalism=West's attempt to impose modernization on traditional perhaps Islamic countries too rapidly) or Almond et al (low levels of education, war, economic problems and Western imperialism).
4. Why is it not rising? (AO2/3)- religion is taking a backseat?- scientific research/ideas increasing, secularization (clear decline in church attendances etc., disengagement, structural differentiation?), fundamentalism is not global.
5. further explanations (counter argument)- maybe fundamentalism is caused by secularization- if we were religious, there wouldn't be a need for fundamentalism/extreme ideas/ideologies.
6. Conclusion- do you agree with the explanations that there is an increase in religious fundamentalism or do you think it is not rising?
(edited 8 years ago)
Hey!
Does anybody have an essay plan for social class and crime? It came up in June 2014
Would be really appreciated ! Thanks
Does anybody have an essay plan for social class and crime? It came up in June 2014
Would be really appreciated ! Thanks
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