17.07.17 Title: Value Freedom (lesson 1 of 2) Learning objectives- Recap overlap themes (Sociology and science v Value freedom) Identify key arguments which support the idea that Sociology can be and should be value free. Identify key arguments which support the idea that Sociology is value laden. Contribute ideas to the big debate questions. How we will do it – Kahoot to review overlap themes between this topic and our last one. Teacher input – introduce the key ideas and big debate questions. Reading + comprehension questions based on value freedom. Class discussion based on the above. Reading + comprehension questions based on value laden sociology. Review objectives + look at possible exam questions.

Sociological theories Research methods Sociological debates Sociological theories Secondary data Official publications –statistics Official publications – reports and government inquiries Diaries and letters Previous sociological research. Novels Oral History The Media Quantitative methods of primary research Surveys Experiments Comparative research Case Studies Formal interviews Closed questionnaires Qualitative methods of primary research Ethnographic research Observations Informal interviews Focus groups Is Sociology a Science? (the status of sociology + different views on the natural sciences) The relationship between theory and methods Debates about subjectivity, objectivity and value freedom The relationship between Sociology and social policy Marxism (different forms e.g. critical criminology, neo-Marxism) Functionalism Social Action Theory New Right Feminism (different forms e.g. liberal, radical) Subcultural theories Late modernism Post modernism

From the specification – ‘Debates about subjectivity, objectivity and value freedom’ Sociology can be and should be free of all values- ‘Value free’ Early positivists People who believe in a scientific approach The idea of Social Facts Case study opportunity (Ev) – Durkheim' study of suicide Sociology is unavoidably affected by values so is ‘value laden’ The context in which sociology works. Weber Funding Personal ambitions Personal beliefs and interests Postmodern ideas about narratives Case study opportunity (Ev) – Sudhir Venkatesh ‘Rogue Sociologist’ Sociology can not and should not aim to be free of values, in fact Sociology should be committed to brining about change – ‘Committed Sociology’ Feminism Marxism Radical v liberal commitment Case study opportunity (Ev) – Howard Becker ‘Whose side are we on?’

Comprehension questions – Define value freedom In the late 19th and early 20th centuries Positivist Sociologists such as August Comte and Emile Durkheim regarded Sociology as a science and thus thought that social research could and should be value free, or scientific. As illustrated in Durkheim’s study of Suicide (1899) – by doing quantitative research and uncovering macro-level social trends Sociologists can uncover the ‘laws of society’. Durkheim believed that one such law was that too high or too low levels of social integration and regulation would lead to an increasing suicide rate. Positivists believed that further research would be able to uncover how much of what types of integration caused the suicide rate to go up or down. We should be able to find out, for example, if a higher divorce rate has more impact on the suicide rate that the unemployment rate. So at one level, Positivists believe that Sociology can be value free because they are uncovering the ‘objective’ laws of how social systems work – these laws exist independently of the researchers observing them. All the researcher is doing is uncovering ‘social facts’ that exist ‘out there’ in the world – facts that would exist irrespective of the person doing the observing. Positivists argued that such value-free social research was crucial because the objective knowledge that scientific sociology revealed could be used to uncover the principles of a good, ordered, integrated society, principles which governments could then apply to improve society. Thus, research should aim to be scientific or value free because otherwise it is unlikely to be taken seriously or have an impact on social policy. Being “value free” is sometime described as being objective: to uncover truths about the world, one must aspire to eliminate personal biases, a prior beliefs, and emotional and personal involvement, etc. Comprehension questions – Define value freedom How is the debate about value freedom linked to the Is Sociology a science debate? Why is value freedom so important? In what ways can Durkheim’s study of suicide be described as value free? Durkheim’s syudy of suicide – Suicide offers an examination of how rates of suicide differed by religion. Specifically, Durkheim analyzed differences between Protestants and Catholics. He found a lower rate of suicide among Catholics, and theorized that this was due to stronger forms of social control and cohesion among them than among Protestants. Additionally, Durkheim found that suicide was less common among women than men, more common among single people than among those who are romantically partnered, and less common among those who have children. Further, he found that soldiers commit suicide more often than civilians, and that curiously, rates of suicide are higher during peacetime than they are during wars. Based on what he saw in the data, Durkheim argued that suicide can be caused by social factors, not just individual psychological ones. Durkheim reasoned that social integration in particular is a factor. The more socially integrated a person is--connected to society and generally feeling that they belong and that their life makes sense within the social context--the less likely they are to commit suicide. As social integration decreases, people are more likely to commit suicide. Durkheim developed a theoretical typology of suicide to explain the differing effects of social factors and how they might lead to suicide.

Comprehension questions – What is meant by the term ‘Value laden’ Sociology? In what ways can Weber’s research be described as value laden? In what ways can career trajectories, personal beliefs and paying for research be seen as processes which involve values into research? How do Postmodernists develop the idea of value laden sociology?

Key questions Why do some Sociologists strive for value freedom? Even if a value free sociology was possible, would it be desirable? In what ways can not taking sides (being objective) inadvertently support the (powerful in an unequal society? Should Sociology always aim to bring about change? Can you avoid taking moral responsibility for your work? Would Sociology be a social science if it didn’t work within the framework of values that hold us together?

Paper Question types 1 2 hours / 80 marks Education ‘outline 2’ (4) ‘outline 3’ (6) ‘applying material from item _, analyses … ’ (20) ‘Applying material from Item B and your knowledge, evaluate the view that… (30) Methods in context Applying material from Item C and your knowledge of research methods, evaluate… (10) Research methods Outline and explain two (10) 2 = 1 hour for each section. = 1.5 minutes per mark Section A: Poverty and Welfare Outline and explain two (10) = 15 mins Applying material from Item A, analyse two reasons why … (10) – 15 mins Applying material from Item B and your knowledge, evaluate the view that … (20) = 30 mins Section B: Global development Outline and explain two ways in which … (10) Applying material from Item A, analyse two reasons why … (10) Applying material from Item B and your knowledge, evaluate the view that … (20) 3 = roughly 1hr 15 mins on section a and 45 mins on section b Crime and Deviance Outline two ways in which … (4) Outline three reasons why… (6) Applying material from Item A, analyse two reasons why… (10) Applying material from Item B and your knowledge, evaluate the usefulness of … (30) Theory and methods Outline and explain two advantages/ disadvantages of … (10) Applying material from Item C and your knowledge, evaluate the usefulness (20)

Exam questions Three different styles of question: ‘Outline and explain two… (10)’ -Paper 1 ‘Outline and explain two advantages/disadvantages of… (10)’ – Paper 3 ‘Applying material from Item C and your knowledge evaluate the view that… (20)’ – Paper 3 e.g. Outline and explain two arguments against the view that Sociology can be and should be value free (10) e.g. Outline and explain two advantages of objectivity in Sociology (10) e.g. Applying material from item C and your knowledge, evaluate the view that Sociology is value laden (20)

17.07.17 Title: Value Freedom (lesson 1 of 2) Which is the odd one out and why? Objectivity is gained through rigorous scientific methodologies. Values are unavoidable, accounting for them is key. Values exist but eradicating personal bias and opinion from research is essential to uncovering truths and social facts. Harder- include a postmodern perspective on values. Learning objectives- Recap overlap themes (Sociology and science v Value freedom) Identify key arguments which support the idea that Sociology can be and should be value free. Identify key arguments which support the idea that Sociology is value laden. Contribute ideas to the big debate questions. Becker ‘All knowledge must favour somebody... And therefore we have to choose whom to favour’ Is Becker right? Which of the three key arguments would Becker’s ideas fall into?

Lesson 2

From the specification – ‘Debates about subjectivity, objectivity and value freedom’ Sociology can be and should be free of all values- ‘_______________’ Early positivists People who believe in a scientific approach The idea of Social Facts Case study opportunity (Ev) – Durkheim' study of ____________ Sociology is unavoidably affected by values so is ‘___________________’ The context in which sociology works. Weber Funding Personal ambitions Personal beliefs and interests Postmodern ideas about narratives Case study opportunity (Ev) – Sudhir Venkatesh ‘Rogue Sociologist’ Sociology can not and should not aim to be free of values, in fact Sociology should be committed to brining about change – ‘__________________’ Feminism Marxism Radical v liberal commitment Case study opportunity (Ev) – Howard Becker ‘Whose side are we on?’

Becker ‘All knowledge must favour somebody Becker ‘All knowledge must favour somebody... And therefore we have to choose whom to favour’… Becker’s studies were about the outsiders in society… labelling theory. Shows a bias towards studying the underdog.

Applying material from item C and your knowledge, evaluate the view that Sociology can not and should not be value free. Item C Social influences on research are bound to affect sociology, these can include things such as political and personal beliefs. However, sociologists are criticised forcefully for lacking value-freedom because they are themselves part of the society that they are investigating. This means that it is almost impossible for them to avoid being influenced to some degree by the dominant values of their society that they have absorbed through socialisation.

Values and objectivity in sociology Value laden Vale freedom Committed sociology Durkheim’s study of suicide Weber- study of beuarucratic organisations Career trajectories – Gouldner Personal beliefs and interests Domain assumptions Postmodernism (critique) Reflexivity Narratives Paying for research Feminism Sudhir Venkatesh – Rogue Sociologist