This document discusses four paradigms of knowledge: empiricism, interpretative theory, critical theory, and postmodernism. It then covers structural functionalism as a paradigm that views society as a whole structure where all parts are interrelated and dysfunctional parts lead to disequilibrium and change. Structural functionalism was advocated by Émile Durkheim and views social facts as external influences that can only be understood through empirical induction. However, structural functionalism has been criticized as being tautological, deterministic, and lacking historical/cultural context. Later theorists attempted to address these criticisms by combining functionalism with falsification and using grounded theory to generate theories from qualitative data.

1. Unit 4 Experience as knowledge Data-oriented methods and structure

2. Four paradigms

4. Empiricism: a theory of knowledge that says knowledge is gained through experience Interpretative theory: a theory of knowledge which aims at understanding rather than fact gathering Critical theory: theories aimed at both understanding (knowledge)and critiquing society Postmodernism: postmodern thinkers question the idea of a single truth

5. Last week Theory-ladenness demarcation Confirmation Falsification Paradigms Non-scientific factors influencing science

6. Theory-ladenness of data Data is infected with theory Your worldview influences your theory So your worldview affects results

7. From theory to data

8. August Comte (1798-1857): Positivism

9. Positivism Understanding the laws that control social reality Empirical approach, confirming theory with data

10. Structural functionalism

11. Structural functionalism Society is a whole, a structure All parts of the structure are interrelated e.g. everything has a function Dysfunction leads to disequilibrium and therefore to change macro-level research

12. Émile Durkheim (1858-1917)

13. Social facts: are external to the actor are to be studied empirically, not philosophically Invisible, only discernable by induction

14. Example: Crime is part of the social structure releases social tensions Is functional

15. analogies The human body as analogy for the state The human body as analogy for a company

16. Criticism Tautological Deterministic Without context (historical, cultural etc.) Uncritical of society

18. Tautological character of structural functionalism Every part of a structure has a function The function of every part is being part of the structure

19. Determinism

20. Determinism There is no agency Individuals are seen from a distance and have no free will

21. Uncritical and without context If poverty, racism, sexism etc. exist, they must have a function This supports the status quo

22. Countering criticism Karl Popper revisited

23. Combining functionalism with falsification Base theory on empirical research Make conjectures Falsify theory

24. From data to theory

25. Grounded theory From data to theory Qualitative Generalisable results

27. criticism Naïve, it is impossible to free yourself from pre-conceptions