Skip to main content

Characteristics of Scientific Method

1.  Empirical The focus of attention is that phenomenon which is observable by using five senses
by the human beings. If one person has observed others can also make that observation which
implies that it is repeatable as well as testable.

2.  Verifiable Observations made by any one researcher could be open to confirmation or refutation
by other observers. Others could also use their sensory experiences for the verification of the
previous findings. The replicability of the phenomenon is essential for repeating the observation.
In this way the intuitions and revelations are out of this process because these are having been the
privileges of special individuals.

3.  Cumulative The knowledge created by this method keeps on growing. The researchers try to
develop linkages between their findings and the findings of previous researchers. The new
findings may support the previous researches, refutethem, or may modify but certainly there is an
addition to the existing body of knowledge. The new researchers need not start from scratch,
rather they have a rich reservoir of knowledge at their disposal and they try to further build on it.

4.  Self-Correcting Possibility of error is always there but the good thing is its identification and
correction. The research findings are shared with other professionals in seminars, conferences,
and by printing these in professional journals. The comments are received and errors, if any, are
corrected. Even the scientists are not categorical in their statements. They would usually make a
statement as is supported by the evidence available at the time. Hence the statement is open to
challenge by the availability of new evidence.

5.  Deterministic Through scientific method the scientists try to explain why things happen? There
could be number of factors producing a particulareffect but the researchers try to find out the
contribution of each factor as well as of different combinations of the same factors. In this way
he tries to identify the factor or combination of factors that produce the maximum effect. In this way he tries to locate the minimum number of causal factors that explain the variation in the
effect. This is the principle of parsimony. Suchan exercise is an effort to determine cause-andeffect relationship.
6.  Ethical and ideological neutrality Researchers are human beings who have values, beliefs,
ideologies, and norms. Effort is made that the personal values, beliefs, and ideologies do not
contaminate the research findings. If these influence then the purity of the information is
adulterated and the predictions made by the scientists will not hold true. Hence the scientific
work should objective and unbiased. Since the human beings are studying the human beings to
what extent they can be unbiased?
7.  Statistical Generalization Statistics is a device for comparing what is observed and what is
logically expected. They are subjecting information to statistical analysis.
8.  Rationalism The collected facts have to be interpreted with arguments. Therefore the scientists
try to employ rigorous rule of logic in their research work.

Any knowledge that is created by applying scientific method is to be called as science. Sociology uses
scientific method for the understanding, identifying the patterns, and predicting the human behavior.
Therefore, sociology is science of human social life.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Benefits of Sociological Perspective

Applying the sociological perspectives to our daily lives benefits us in four ways: 1.  The sociological perspective helps us to assess the truth of community held assumptions (call it “common sense”). We all take many things for granted, but that does not make them true. A sociological approach encourages us to ask whether commonly held beliefs are actually true and, to the extent they are not, why they are so widely held. Consider for yourself: gender differences; ethnic differences; racial differences; and social class differences. Where do these differences come from? 2.  The sociological perspective prompts us to assess both the opportunities and the constraints that characterize our lives. What we are likely and unlikely to accomplish for ourselves and how can we pursue our our goals effectively? 3.  The sociological perspective empowers us to participate actively in our society. If we do not know how the society operates, we are likely to accept th...
1 comment
Read more

AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION

Socialization agents are the sources from which we learn about society and ourselves. People and groups that influence our self-concept, emotions, attitudes, and behavior are called agents of socialization. They are our socializes. People who serve as socializing agents include family members, friends, neighbors, the police, the employers, teachers, political leaders, business leaders, religious leaders, sports stars, and entertainers. Socialization agents also can be fictional characters that we read about or see on television or in the movies. Every social experience we have affects us in at least a small way. However, several familiar settings have special importance in the socialization process. Some of the important agents of socialization are as below. The Family The family has the greatest impact on socialization. Infants are totally dependent on others, and the responsibility to look after the young ones typically falls on parents and other family members. It is a matter o...
Post a Comment
Read more

SOCIAL DISTRIBUTION OF CRIME: EXPLANATIONS

Background There is a growing and widespread perception among the population that, over time, crime has grown more prevalent and serious. During the last half century it has been reported that people are now much more fearful of crime than in earlier times. They are experiencing heightened anxiety about going out after dark, about their homes being burgled, and about becoming the victims of violence. Statistics about crime and delinquency are probably the least reliable of all officially published figures on social issues. We cannot take official statistics at face value, but must pay attention to the way in which those statistics were generated.   The most basic limitation of official crime statistics isthat they only include crimes actually recorded by the police. There is a long chain of problematic decisions between possible crime and its registration by the police. The majority of crimes, especially petty thefts, are never reported to the police at all. Even in the case...
Post a Comment
Read more