Problems Faced by Sociology as a Science and How They Can Be Alleviated Essay Example

style="text-align: justify">Individuals who are isolated or unhappy tend to experience an intensification of these feelings as the activity level of others rises. Therefore sociologists can wrongly ascribe a cause to an event. Sociology also makes use of Ethnographies which are fieldwork, or first hand studies of people, using participant observation or interviewing. According to Giddens, (2006:86), the published reminiscences and diaries of fieldworkers have revealed problems like frequent feelings of loneliness which must be coped with as it isn’t easy to fit into a social context or community where you don’t really belong.

The researcher may be constantly frustrated because the members of the group refuse to talk frankly about themselves; direct queries may be welcomed in some contexts but met with chilly silence in others. Some types of fieldwork may even be physically dangerous; for instance, a researcher studying a delinquent gang might be seen as a police informer or might become unwittingly embroiled in conflicts with rival gangs. ibid)

The survey method of research in sociology involves only a small number of people, we cannot therefore be sure that what is found in one context will apply in other situations as well, or even that two different researchers would come to the same conclusions when studying the same group. (Op Cit:88,89). According to Gopal (2003), often sociologists are interested in the characteristics of large numbers of individuals – for example, the political attitudes of the British population as a whole. It would be impossible to study all these people directly, so in such situations researchers engage in sampling.

Sociological research may reveal scientific results which may be against the traditional

facts. The findings may be accepted however, the policy makers would not impose them. This may end up rendering the whole research futile. (Ibid). An example can be that if it is discovered that to disband a riotous gang, police have to kill some of them. This might not be implemented by policy makers as it could be perceived morally wrong. According to Ghosh, (2004:45) The choice or decision involving humans, which is essential for observing human behavior for the use of the method of experiment, becomes difficult.

Thus, reliable scientific data cannot always be collected Sociology as a science is so much valued, but having seen the practice of science becoming increasingly complex, expensive and dependent on government and corporations for funding. It should in turn transform scientific work beginning with values that influence the choice of subjects for research, (ibid). Sociologists are influenced in their work by the values which they hold and the values of society in which they work.

Values enter research in the choice of problem and methodology of study the formation of hypotheses, the collection and analysis of data and conclusion reached. Moreover values can pose serious problems for scientists because it is often difficult to separate values, from the points of view which guide the research. (Op. cit) According to Cohen (1968), Sociologists see only what they want not paying attention to the subject in question, an example is when Herber investigated the industrial, capitalism in Europe, he saw the influence of Calvinism but not that of technological innovation, (ibid).

Sociology also faces the problem of studying human behavior in a wide range, hence it

becomes difficult to understand it fully. The methods used to collect data sometimes do not produce results as expected by sociologists, this is because phenomenon to be generalized are not of a direct perspective kind and can not be measured by e. g. a thermometer or scales like those in natural sciences. Different aspects of human behavior are psychological in nature, and as such, do not submit to measurement.

Sociologists face three bias problems the variability and unpredictability of human nature, formation of terminology of human nature, confusion of terminology and bias due to their values. Humans are more variable than chemical elements in natural sciences. Hence they are disadvantaged because each person has different behavior and are in continuous change in relation to their individual and group experience, (Ibid). An example is Oxygen. It always supports burning and this is always true but one person’s behavior would not be the same for another under the same conditions. Hence stablishment of human patterns is difficult.

Though these problems exist, their extent can be greatly lessened in the ways outlined below: According to Ghosh (2004:46) the personal prejudices of an observer can be minimized with the help of some standardized techniques developed for that purpose. The objective of such techniques is to eliminate the subjective bias in the analytical framework of scientific theories. In sociology, difficulties in observation and experimentation may be reduced to a considerable extent by making the enquiry confined to a particular class whose behavior is taken up for study.

If the analysis is carried on for the same situations, circumstances, environment, institutions etc. , it can be broadly realistic

and successful. (Ibid, 2004:46) Problems can further be reduced by standardizing the terminologies used in its study to all sociologists. For example the terms like society, behaviour, should mean the same thing to all sociologists. It is also important to facilitate a suitable environment to people being interviewed during research to produce correct information.

According to Northrope, (1955), sociological perspective could be used as a way of observing and explaining issues in question, based on the assumption that a different characteristics from the individual that compose it, hence it can help to balance our personal desires and demand of our social environment an example, some times you may find a person who divorces and does not consider where the children would go ,this arise a concern to understand why people behave in such a manner without minding the effect they cause to environment sociology limits our person desires that are not accept to other social environment components.

Young, (1975:4), points out that although many people seem to have the good ideas of society from their experience, they should not affect their results as they may be incorrect. The application of scientific method in sociologists’ work rather than common sense should be observed, every fact of information must be verified. According to Giddens (2006), problems arising from causal connections in sociology can be alleviated by not understanding them in too mechanical a way.

The attitudes people have and their subjective reasons for acting as they do are causal factors in relationships between variables in social life. In researches involving questionnaires, misleading findings can be avoided by ensuring that all the items are readily

understandable to interviewers and interviewees alike. Ambiguities must be avoided. (Ibid). Questionnaires should also take into consideration the characteristics of respondents. Will they see the point the researcher has in mind in asking a particular question? Have they enough information to answer usefully?

The terms of the questionnaire might be unfamiliar to the respondents. For example, the question ‘what is your marital status? ’ might baffle some people. It would be more appropriate to ask, ‘Are you single, married, separated, or divorced? ’ (Op. cit) Another way to alleviate the problems in sociology is by conducting pilot studies in order to pick up problems not anticipated by the investigator. A pilot study is a trial run in which a questionnaire is completed by just a few people. Any difficulties can then be ironed out before the main survey is done. Giddens, 2006) Pitfalls in sampling can be reduce by picking a sample representative of the group of individuals studied and must be typical of the population as a whole.

To achieve this, random sampling in which a sample is chosen so that every member of the population has the same probability of being included has to be done. The most sophisticated way of obtaining a random sample is to give each member of the population a number and then use a computer to generate a random list, from which the sample is derived – for instance, by picking every tenth number. Ibid) In conclusion, the essay has discussed the various problems faced by sociology as a science. It has gone further to say how these can be reduced. From the information highlighted above,

Sociological evidence may not always be accurate due to problems like changing of behavior when in front of a researcher, unwillingness of respondent to respond to some questions, the researchers’ biased view, wrong identification of the cause of an event.

It has also been limited by researchers who see what they want to see, Unpredictability of human nature, etc. The essay has shown that these problems can be alleviated by standardizing terminologies, avoid understanding the problems in not too a mechanical way. Using simple language in questionnaires, conducting pilot studies, picking a representative group of people from a group to be studied. However, sociological evidence can be trusted further by applying the problem alleviation techniques outlined above.