Sociological Forensics

Important Reading... How to start a qualitative project from the research question & literature review... For your final paper, illustrates how to: Formulate a methodology section (p ) Provide justifications for your choices (p507-8) Ethnographic excerpts (p.508)

Reflexivity Glocalization to Global Flows of Culture (theory) Things not what he assumed Go for a beer....find research.

“...when trying to explain social life... look for phenomena that stand out at the level of social action: (stories about) who meets and does what with whom, when and where; the way people greet and relate to each other, what they talk about, how they identify and describe themselves, and the references they make to others.” How have the elements of the narrative been brought together in a certain way” (Inglis, 2010: 512)

“...when trying to explain social life... look for phenomena that stand out at the level of social action: (stories about) who meets and does what with whom, when and where; the way people greet and relate to each other, what they talk about, how they identify and describe themselves, and the references they make to others…. …How have the elements of the narrative been brought together in a certain way?” (Inglis, 2010: 512)

Classic Case Studies The Established and the Outsiders (1964): Elias Scotson Gossip as a social process (celebrity culture?) Civilizing process Street Corner Society: (1943): Whyte Social order among "gangs” Similar to everyone else Ranking... Learning to Labour (1980): how class reproduction takes place through education...

Seeking ‘generic social processes’ Acquiring perspectives Achieving identity Doing activity Developing relationships Experiencing emotionality Achieving linguistic fluency

Finding your Puzzle Determine the kind of puzzle you want to explain/explore: Developmental: Developmental: How or why did X develop? Mechanical: Mechanical: How does X work? Comparative: Comparative: How can we explain the differences between X and Y?

Research Question Research project is DESIGNED to answer this question Device to guide your inquiry (not a hypothesis statement; not ‘prove/disprove’) Analytical Research question NOT prescriptive (cause & effect)

Outstanding in the Field: Knowing Where You Stand Paradigms Epistemology Ontology & Methodology

Paradigms Assumptions that define, for the viewer : “nature” of the world the individual’s place in it The range of possible relationships within the world (and the parts that make it up) ALL theories contain assumptions. Qualitative Research is reflexive about them

Paradigms: Positivism Epistemology Dualist & objective (unchanged by viewer, or countered) Replicable findings are ‘true” Ontology “Natural” laws – concrete reality Temporally & context free reality Non-humanist Methodology Experimental & Manipulative Control, verification and ‘improper influences’ are controlled for *Psychology, Physics, Biology, etc.

Qualitative as a response to Positivism... No context Problem of Insider/Outsider Alternative thinking discouraged General data not representative of individual Ignores relationship between theory & method Maintains myth of objectivity and value-free science

Origins of Qualitative Research Symbolic Interactionism CW Mills WI Thomas Blumer Mead Hooley Garfinkle The capacity to connect individuals to social context

Paradigms: Critical Theory Epistemology Verstehen Subjectivist (investigator/object relationship) Value Mediated (e.g. standpoint epistemology) Ontology Socio-political-cultural factors shape “real” institutions Non-Humanist and Humanist Methodology Dialogic & Dialectical Historical understanding & critique thus inspire social change *Feminism, Marxism, Postmodernism, Poststructuralism, Etc *Feminism, Marxism, Postmodernism, Poststructuralism, Etc

Paradigms: Symbolic Interactionism Ontology Reality is socially constructed and can be altered Language & symbols at the core of meaningful knowing & acting Epistemology Subjectivist (investigator/object relationship) Findings are ‘created’ Note: distinction between ontology, epistemology and methodology are less clear Methodology Dialogic & Dialectical Reflexivity *Symbolic Interactionism, Labelling Theory, Dramatism

What voice is heard in your research? Positivism: “Disinterested scientist” Policy makers, agents of change (legitimate) Critical Theory: “Transformative intellectual” Advocate and activist Constructivism: “passionate participant” facilitator or multi-voiced ! Can I use “first person” in my final research paper?