Examine the factors that influence a sociologist on their choice of research methods

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Examine the factors that influence a sociologist on their choice of research methods.

The main factors that influence a sociologist's choice of research method depend on two different theoretical approaches to the study of society; positivism and interpretivism.

Positivism is an approach in sociology that believes society can be studied using similar scientific techniques to those used in the natural sciences, such as physics, biology and chemistry.

Interpretivism is an approach emphasizing that people have consciousness involving personal beliefs, values and interpretations that influence the way they act and that they do not simply respond to forces outside them.

These two theoretical approaches often use different research methods because they have different assumptions about the nature of society, this influences the type of data they are interested in collecting. Practicality, ethics, theory and subject of study also contribute to the methods used for research.

Durkheim, a positivist, called the external social forces that make up a societies social structure that cause or mould people's ideas and actions social facts.
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Durkheim said the aim of sociology should be the study of social facts, which in most cases could be measured and observed quantitatively, in number or statistical form. Such as the number of people applying for visas to work in a particular country.

As emotions, feelings and motives of individuals cannot be observed and measured he suggested they should not be studied.

Such quantitative methods are more likely to involve large-scale research on a large number of people. These methods can include social surveys, structured/formal interviews, structured questionnaires and official statistics such as people's views on ...

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