SOC101Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Statics, Participant Observation, Intentionality
Document Summary
Introduction: the purposeful structuring of sociological inquiry comes from asking theoretically informed questions. Systematic sociological study integrates sound theory with careful methods. Science as a social practice: science needs subjectivity but it cannot be overwhelmed by it. Observer bias : making unconscious mistakes in classifying or selecting observations (cid:0) is now commonly discussed as a danger to good methodological procedure. Minimizing bias in social science: sociologists apply scientific practices to the study of human practices to the study of human society. These practices incorporate several ways of reducing bias. They work to root out error in reasoning and observation: expectations and values are in tension within the scientific enterprise. Without the, the spark of creativity and passion would be low, but with them we can be led to false conclusions. Put differently, objective and subjectivity each play an important role in science, inclosing sociology: objectivity: stresses that observations should e free of distorting effects of a person"s values and expectations.
