What does it mean to practise

social science?
What does it mean to practise
social science?

 Should we try to study social objects in the

manner of the natural sciences?

 Should we reject the methods of the natural

science for studying social life?

 Should we redefine what we mean by science?

Theorizing situations

 Theory: a conceptual tool kit (a skills and ideas

bank)

 Theory: a “basic survival skill” (Lemert 1993:1)

 Theory is an important component of all

human practices
There are common characteristics which can
be identified in the things we do

 In our everyday tasks we continually engage in a series of

reflections about the world around us.

 When routines break down we have to theorize the situation we

are in and plan our actions more carefully

 Actually, even when activities have the appearance of being

routine and untheorized, they still have a theoretical dimension –
we simply take our theories of how the world works for granted
Theorizing situations

 The activities engaged in by social scientists can be just as

routine… usually it is only when their research tools no longer
work that social scientists have to rethink the assumptions behind
them.

 Sometimes, even then this doesn't happen – because social

science involves a wide range of ideas which become so deeply
embedded that is hard to even identify them.
Scientific knowledge: viewpoints

 “Scientific knowledge is universally true”

(Is this correct?)/ up to you

 “Truth is relative – no one view is superior to

another” (Is this correct?) many opinion

 - actually, both these viewpoints are simplistic

 “science is improving – the misinterpretations of the

past were simply poor science” (maybe)
“Science has changed over time and varies
across cultures” (An alternative viewpoint)

 Why have certain views of science been considered plausible

at certain times in particular societies?
For example:
– Chinese medicine assumes a holistic relationship between mind & body
– Western medicine’s mechanical approach separates physical & mental
disorders

 Practitioners of both systems consider their knowledge to be

scientific

 Each claim is true within it’s respective cultural context

 To understand why this is, we need to situate

knowledge
Science, as a social practice, is situated in
two ways

 Knowledge is situated socially through the cultural

and institutional life of a given community

 Knowledge is situated historically by examining

the shared traditions of how knowledge is
produced

 NB: The context within which knowledge is produced

is often neglected
The term ‘objective knowledge’

 “objectivity” is claimed to convey a sense of

truthfulness and to legitimize a particular story

 It is used as a claim to authoritative knowledge

 Scientific knowledge is often described as objective

knowledge which means it can be taken as a true
account of something
Objectivity is a contested concept in
the social sciences

 what we take as objective truth has often

changed

 Social scientists can make misinformed or

biased judgments
ETHNOCENTRICISM

 Failing to acknowledge how our own cultural

location shapes our ideas

 Labels such as “black”, “white”, “Asian”

become fact

 Social scientists have often translated

prejudices into objective categories
The importance of cultural values

 Always ask yourself:

“What values underpin the choice of concepts and the
way in which an object of study is defined?”

 Values are a key component of any investigation of

the social world

 It is difficult to separate the treatment of facts in

social science from deeply embedded cultural values
 Social science is a ‘situated
practice’

 Because it is embedded in the

very social relations it attempts
to explain and understand
Social scientific knowledge is situated in 2 ways…

 Historically - in terms of the shared values and

guidelines transmitted from previous studies in
the social sciences

 Socially – within a specific cultural and

institutional context
How does this affect social
research practice?
 The way we define our objects of analysis often reflects the
taken-for-granted assumptions of the social researcher
 Social researchers select research methods that will fulfill
certain purposes
 Political values can affect the purpose and character of social
research
 Personal experiences are often involved in research in subtle
ways
 Social researchers often gather evidence on the basis of a
particular conception about what is normal or abnormal
It is important to think about

 why we are doing social research in a particular way

and why we have rejected other ways

 the way in which we define objects of analysis and

select a particular problem to investigate

 why we consider one approach to be more useful

than another in providing the ideas & evidence we
need
Social Scientists have to make a
decision about whether…

To be or not to be …detached, involved,

or somewhere in between…

Each time they research and write about a

topic they must make this decision anew.
Alfred Schütz (1899–1959)

 philosopher and sociologist

 argued that in both social science and in everyday

life we stereotype the behaviour and motivations of
others and use this information as a map that
enables us to think through a situation and act

 We should find a way of linking lived experience and

scientific knowledge
The perspective of the ‘stranger’

 acts as a bridge between social scientific accounts

and the everyday experiences of those being studied

 The ‘stranger’ sees beyond the lived experiences of

everyday life, but is not so detached as to lose
contact with the people being studied

 addresses the concern to make scientific

practice connect to everyday life
Compare and contrast

 Which figure manages to bridge the gap

between everyday life and social science?

 Which figure is most accessible in terms of

its capacity to convey knowledge?
These examples are reminders:

 About the importance of making social scientific knowledge

accessible - and not just to social scientists

 That effective social science can convey complex relationships

without baffling the audience

 Social scientists should have similar aspirations in the design of

their research and the presentation of their evidence.