1. Positivism and quantitative research methods
No research method is perfect in the same way there is no perfect way to keep totally hygienic, the
aim is always to strive for the best method. Similarly, when doing research sociologists do not
religiously adhere to one approach, they are however usually more sympathetic to positivism or
interpretivism.
Positivists attempt to follow the hypothetico [form a predictive answer to a question], deductive
[working out a theory] method.
Give an example of this.
By following six steps the aim is there will be a high chance of generating accurate scientific
knowledge:
1. A literature search – therefore all research starts with secondary sources.
2. Formulate a hypothesis.
3. Decide on a methodology.
4. Collect data.
5. Analysis of the data.
6. Confirm, modify or reject the hypothesis in light of the research.
7. Formulate a theory.
Why is stage one so important?
Both Marxism and functionalism are based on the notion that society exists and determines how we
think and act, that we are to a great extent puppets of society. Therefore a scientific approach to the
study of society will yield theories and laws. The central point about Durkheim’s study of suicide is
that societal factors determine the suicide rate rather than individual actions.
According to Marx "Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please;
they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing
already, given and transmitted from the past." In other words our actions are constrained
by the society we live in and its history.
The actual methods favoured by positivists and by government departments such as the
Office for National Statistics (ONS) and commercial organisations such as polling
companies are surveys. They are less likely to be influenced by personal beliefs. The aim
is to ensure that a cross section of the population is chosen to sample in order to be able
to generalise the results to the population as a whole. As few as 1200 voters can be used
to get a snapshot of the population when surveying the electorate.
Who may such surveys be useful to? What are their advantages and
drawbacks?
However, such snapshot surveys are not a good way to record complex or ambiguous
information.
Give an example of this.

2. Longitudinal studies overcome this problem. The British Household Panel Survey has been
conducted since 1991. Ten thousand people in 5500 households are questioned.
From the website of the BHPS: ‘All members of the household aged 16 or over are
interviewed. In addition children aged 11 – 15 complete a self-completion questionnaire –
the Youth Questionnaire introduced in 1994. The questionnaire for each adult individual
lasts approximately 45 minutes and there is an additional short household level
questionnaire asked of one person only.
The core questionnaire cover a broad range of social science and policy interests
including: household composition, housing conditions, residential mobility, education and
training, health and the usage of health services, labour market behaviour, socio-economic
values, income from employment and benefits and pensions.
This generates important information for the government to guide social policy.
What are the drawbacks of this method?
In order to do a survey a representative sample must be chosen from a sampling frame
(list), such as the electoral register, however especially in inner city areas this may be out
of date. It is also increasingly difficult to get hold of other lists as a result of data protection.
Why is this?
Surveys are often randomly selected, for example every nth name is chosen to sample on
the school register. A more sophisticated method is stratified sampling; where the
population under study is divided according to known criteria – for example if the
population is 48% female the researcher attempts to survey this percentage in the study.
There are problems with this, interviewers are often poorly paid, they may get bored, the
nth person they need to interview may look nasty, there may not be able to find the
person they need to fulfill the stratified sample or their perception of the person may be
wrong.
The main criticism against the positivistic approach is that it may establish a correlation –
for example between crime and poverty – but it does not establish reasons/motivations for
the actions of individuals.
It also arguably does not address the imposition problemidentified by the sociologist Ray
Pawson. He argues that it almost impossible for the researcher to be distant from the
process of research – they set the questions, decide who to talk to and as a result
influence what the result will look like.
See – focus on research page 282 of Moore, for information on The Offending, Crime and
Justice Survey- A national survey of young offenders.