SOC101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Qualitative Sociology, Social Desirability Bias, Operationalization
15 Dec 2013
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Document Summary
Quantitative sociology if viewed as a science, efforts are often made to quantify social life. Qualitative sociology if viewed as an art or humanity, efforts are made to tap into the rich meanings of human experiences. Uses scientific method like experiments, data analysis, and drawing conclusions. Science gives the best understanding of how the world works. Besides experiments, personal opinions, biases, and cultural understandings are also important in science. Some people say we should approach with relativism (the belief there is no ultimately truth) because complete objectivity is impossible. Complete objectivity arises when one separates themselves from prior knowledge of the world when making observations (which is impossible). Others argue that sociologists can and do develop rules for what constitutes good sociology" to bad sociology". These rules concern the proper methods used to collect, record, and analyze data. Most sociological research is designed to test a theory.
