Have you ever wondered why a subject like sociology is called a social science? More than any other discipline, sociology deals with things that are already familiar to most people. All of us live in society, and we already know a lot about the subject matter of sociology — social groups, institutions, norms, relationships and so on — through our own experience. It seems fair, then, to ask what makes the sociologist different from other members of society. Why should s/he be called a social scientist? As with all scientific disciplines, the crucial element here is method, or the procedures through which knowledge is gathered. For in the final analysis, sociologists can claim to be different from lay persons not because of how much they know or what they know, but because of how they acquire their knowledge. This is one reason for the special importance of method in sociology.

As you have seen in the previous chapters, sociology is deeply interested in the lived experience of people. For example, when studying social phenomena like friendship or religion or bargaining in markets, the sociologist wants to know not only what is observable by the bystander, but also the opinions and feelings of the people involved. Sociologists try to adopt the point of view of people they study, to see the world through their eyes.

Although it is often used simply as a substitute for (or synonym of) ‘method’, the word ‘methodology’ actually refers to the study of method. Methodological issues or questions are thus about the general problems of scientific knowledge-gathering that go beyond any one particular method, technique or procedure. We begin by looking at the ways in which sociologists try to produce knowledge that can claim to be scientific. Objectivity and Subjectivity in Sociology.

In everyday language, the word ‘objective’ means unbiased, neutral, or based on facts alone. In order to be objective about something, we must ignore our own feelings or attitudes about that thing. However, the word ‘subjective’ means something that is based on individual values and preferences. This creates special problems for objectivity in a social science like sociology.

One method sociologists use to guard against bias is to rigorously and continuously examine one’s own ideas and feelings about the subject of research. This technique is called ‘self-reflexivity’, or sometimes just ‘reflexivity’. The sociologist constantly subjects her own attitudes and opinions to self-examination.

Since there are multiple truths and multiple perspectives in sociology, it is hardly surprising that there are also multiple methods. There is no single unique road to sociological truth. Different methods are more or less suited to tackle different types of research questions.

Participant observation refers to a particular method by which sociologists learn about society, culture, and people that they are studying. Unlike other methods of primary data collection, fieldwork involves a long period of interaction with the subjects of research.

But like all research methods, fieldwork also has some weaknesses — otherwise, all social scientists would be using this method alone! Fieldwork by its very nature involves very long drawn out and intensive research usually by a single scholar working alone.

Survey is probably the best known sociological method, one that is now so much a part of modern public life that it has become commonplace. A survey is an attempt to provide an overview.