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1. Social Research Methodsafter methods: knowledge production and research practice

   Amy Hinterberger a.hinterberger@warwick.ac.uk
2. introducing – the final part of the module Lecturer Amy Hinterberger (me, weeks 17-19) Topics Week 17: Introduction to final part of the module What is philosophy of social science? Social research as science? ( & some key terms) Social research today Week18: What is the social? Week 19: Objectivity and Situated Knowledge Week 20: Ethics and Reflexivity
3. final assessment:Reflexive Essay (attached to project) The reflexive essay is a separate document from your Research Project Report. It will take the form of a standard 1500 word academic essay where you critically reflect on your research project. The purpose of the Reflexive Essay is to show you that doing sociological research is about making choices which you need to be accountable for. This means providing a critical reflection on your chosen research project by drawing on the different philosophies about making knowledge that we discuss towards the end of the term. The reflexive essay should address the following questions: What epistemological or philosophical concerns are raised by your Research Project Report? Why did you take this approach you did? And how is this approach different to others you could have taken? What kinds of ethical challenges are raised by your research project? Why do social researchers need to think reflexively about the philosophical and epistemological assumptions of their research practice? Look at Module Handbook and on the course webpage for these instructions
4. today we will cover: Knowledge production and research practice: 1) What is Philosophy of Social Science? 2) Social research as science? ( & some key terms) 3) Social research today What’s the point? Methods don't just describe social realities but are also involved in creating them
5. from method to methodology Methods are the ways and processes used to gather data (e.g. interviews, ethnography etc.) Methodology refers to the philosophical assumptions underlying a particular study, as opposed to being a collection of methods, (though methodology leads to and informs the methods).
6. methodological awareness ‘To have mastered ‘theory’ and ‘method’... Means to have become a self-conscious thinker; a [person] ready for work and aware of the assumptions and implications of every step he will take as he tries to find out the character and the meaning of the reality he is working on.’ C. Wright Mills ‘On Intellectual Craftsmanship’ in Seale, 2004 p.21
7. philosophy – thinking, critical reflection on our practice Why do we do what we do? What are we hoping to achieve? What problems motivate our work? The philosophy of social science is dedicated to understanding a set of problems or questions.
8. what’s the problem? For example: The need to govern urbanised industrial populations Dangerous romanticism and ideological domination A lack of understanding and empathy Domination and inequality/dominant discourse Desire to ‘give voice’ to minority perspectives To grasp a philosophical approach you need to know something about where it came from and what problems or issues it is motivated by. Different philosophical approaches: Emerge from specific histories Relate to different technologies Address different problems Attempt to do different things
9. central problem/question in the philosophy of social sciences Central question: ‘should inquiry into the problems of society proceed in the same way as inquiry into the problems of nature’? (Jarvie 2011: 2) …or in other words, is social research a science?
10. ontology Ontology – study of being/existence Why do sociologists care about ontology? Because so much of what we believe underlies social life is abstract and cannot be directly observed. What is an ontological question? e.g. Do societies exist independently of the people who make them up? ‘Theory’ here simply means understandings, underlying assumptions... In this sense we always have (at least one) theory. We are always assuming (at least one) ontological position.
11. examples - ontology some ‘ontological’ resources: Martin Heidegger, 1971, “The Thing,” in Poetry, Language, Thought , New York: Harper & Row, Jane Bennett and William Connolly, 2012, “The Crumpled Handkerchief,” in Bernd Herzogenrath, ed., Time and History in Deleuzeand Serres. Continuum. Annemarie Mol, 1999, “Ontological Politics: A Word and Some Questions,” in John Law, and J. Hassard, ed., Actor Network Theory and After. Oxford: Blackwell, Ian Hacking, 1983 Representing and Intervening , Cambridge University Press Guide to the ‘ontological turn’: http://somatosphere.net/series/ontology-2
12. epistemology Epistemology: theory of knowledge What is knowledge? How is it possible to know? How do we know that we know? Do other people really know what they claim to know? What is sociological/social science knowledge? How is it possible to know about society? How do we know that we know about society? Do other sociologists really know what they claim to know?
13. examples - epistemology There are different kinds of epistemological positions: 19th century debate between positivists and hermeneutics : can we do ‘value-free’ studies of society? (e.g. Karl Popper and scientific foundations for sociology) 20th century: ‘critical theory’ of Theodor Adorno and JurgenHabbermas argue that value-neutrality is impossible and advocate for critique of society 20th/21st: social epistemology (with roots in science and technology studies, e.g. Steve Fuller) and feminist epistemology also challenge assumptions of value neutrality (e.g. standpoint theory, Sandra Harding).
14. scientific method - positivism Positivism: a) doctrine developed in the later 18th century – the Enlightenmentand applied to chemistry, physics, biology b) Science can produce thoroughly objective (“positive”) knowledge c) ‘Real’ truth; beyond mere opinions e) Scientists are dispassionate and objective. They don’t impose their views on the data d) Science can be completely rigorous – uses reliable methods (experiments) e) Science discovers scientific laws that apply in all circumstances
15. durkheim’s positivism 1. Durkheim wants to set up sociology as a properly “scientific” discipline 2. He models it on the “hard” natural sciences 3. He tries to prove “society” really exists; It’s not just a collection of individuals 4. Main thing to examine: “social facts” These strongly constrain and shape individuals’ thoughts and actions The Rules of Sociological Method (1895 [trans. 1958]) Sociology = the natural science of society
16. social research today Dramatic changes in social research due to: Changing conceptions of the empirical Interest in interdisciplinary work Need to communicate with diverse users and audiences ‘Methods texts, however, have not kept pace with these changes’ (Lury and Wakeford, Inventive Methods, 2012:6).
17. key themes driving contemporary philosophy of methods What is the problem at hand- how and to what effect can methods be used? Relationship between specific, general and universal The sensible and the knowable e.g. ‘Tape Recorder’ by Les Back in Lury and Wakeford, Inventive Methods, 2012 More than just a ‘device’:
18. “‘Research Methods’: a compulsory course, which is loved by some but hated by many!” (Law 2004) Law is critical of ‘methodological’ hygiene. (‘Eating your epistemological greens)’ In practice research is messy and heterogeneous (‘Disciplined lack of clarity’)
19. how might method deal with mess?
20. a return to ontology Ontological politics: Turning the ontological gaze onto our own practices as social scientists. Means asking new questions: What is it that methods do? What kinds of worlds do we create through our own practices? Methods don't just describe social realities but are also involved in creating them
21. summary What is Philosophy of Social Science? (methodological awareness, critical thinking) Social research as science? ( & some key terms) Social research today – methods do not simply describe social worlds but also enact them.
22. seminar Discussion of the required readings and lecture Clarifying understanding of key terms Consolidating understanding of positivism Discussing, in relation to your own research project the assertion: Methods don't just describe social realities but are also involved in creating them