Assess the view that positivist methods are inappropriate for investigating society
Positivist vs interpretivist
Quantative and qualitive data
Scientific method
Reliability
Validity
Objectivity and value freedom
Postmodernism
Social facts/social constriction
Realism
Macro versus micro
Atkinson; Becker; Cicourel; Durkheim; Douglas; Garfinkel;
Glaser and Strauss; Kuhn; Oakley; Popper; Weber; official
statistics on crime; demography; poverty; etc. NB
Candidates will be rewarded at all levels for an und
Assess the relative importance of the different factors that affect sociologists’ choice of research methods
and of topics to investigate.