INTRODUCTION TO NINE STANDARDS OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
Certain broad standards, principles or criteria have been established for determining what scientific research is all about, and what it is not. That is, the standards help us to determine in some detail whether, or the extent to which, a proposed or completed study meets the expectations of the relevant scientific community -- in the present case, Sociology. They all apply, to a greater or lesser degree, to quantitative or qualitative research, or a combination of the two. The identity or image of Sociology as a discipline, or of any other discipline for that matter, does not somehow disappear just because one wishes to do qualitative, or indeed quantitative, research.
We can clearly identify nine such standards or criteria. These are:
universality, replicability, control, measurability
(Leedy, 1980: 46); validity, reliability, objectivity, ethics (Comte, 1853; Durkheim, 1982; Weber, 1964: 126-130; Giddens, 1993: 114-116) and
representativeness (Sarantakos, 1994: 18-26; Weber, 1964: 110). The cited authors are only examples of scholars who have engaged in conversations about these standards.
I enthusiastically take the opportunity to share with the reader my own understanding and critique of each of the standards, and of related conversations by other scholars, on separate blog pages. Links to the respective blog pages are embedded in the list below, and readers are invited to click on each at their convenience:
1. Universality
7. Objectivity (Pending)
8. Ethics
9, Representativeness.
Let me, as I conclude this brief piece, invite debate. The more robust the debate, the better all around.
P.S: An earlier version of this introduction was published in early November 2015, but was quickly withdrawn ('reverted to draft') to allow for more of the nine key standards to first appear. Six standards have now been published. The seventh, "Ethics", has taken more time than previously anticipated -- as the filling of one gap or other in the narrative revealed the exciting need to do yet another, and so on -- but is nearly done. The remaining two will follow soon after it. The release of this updated introduction today (January 25th, 2016) thus appeared as appropriate as it was ever going to be, and so here it is.
References
P.S: An earlier version of this introduction was published in early November 2015, but was quickly withdrawn ('reverted to draft') to allow for more of the nine key standards to first appear. Six standards have now been published. The seventh, "Ethics", has taken more time than previously anticipated -- as the filling of one gap or other in the narrative revealed the exciting need to do yet another, and so on -- but is nearly done. The remaining two will follow soon after it. The release of this updated introduction today (January 25th, 2016) thus appeared as appropriate as it was ever going to be, and so here it is.
References
American Sociological Association, ASA (1999) Code of Ethics and Policies and Procedures of the ASA Committee on Professional Ethics. Washington, DC: ASA
Comte, Auguste (1853) The Positive Philosophy of Auguste Comte. Volume I. Trans. Harriet Martineau. New York: D. Appleton and Co.
Cooper, John M. (2003) "Classical Greek Ethics", pp. 9-18, in Lawrence C. Becker and Charlotte B. Becker (2003) A History of Western Ethics. Second Edition. New York and London: Routledge.
Durkheim, Emile (1957) Professional Ethics and Civic Morals. Trans. Cornelia Brookfield. Longon and New York: Routledge.
International Sociological Association (2001) Code of Ethics. Madrid: ISA
Jones, Robert Alun (1986) Emile Durkheim: An Introduction to Four Major Works. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. (CLICK HERE: Excerpts from Jones' book focusing on Durkheim's The Rules of Sociological Method)
Kahn, Charles H. (2003) "Presocratic Greek Ethics", pp. 1-8), in Lawrence C. Becker and Charlotte B. Becker (2003) A History of Western Ethics. Second Edition. New York: Routledge.
Roberts, Alice (2009) The Incredible Human Journey: The Story of How We Colonised the Planet. London: Bloomsbury
Becker, Lawrence C. and Charlotte B. Becker, Eds (2003) A History of Western Ethics. Second Edition. New York and London: Routledge.
British Sociological Association, BSA (2002) Statement of Ethical Practice for the British Sociological Association. Durham: BSA (consider the PDF version provided)
Comte, Auguste (1853) The Positive Philosophy of Auguste Comte. Volume I. Trans. Harriet Martineau. New York: D. Appleton and Co.
Cooper, John M. (2003) "Classical Greek Ethics", pp. 9-18, in Lawrence C. Becker and Charlotte B. Becker (2003) A History of Western Ethics. Second Edition. New York and London: Routledge.
Durkheim, Emile (1957) Professional Ethics and Civic Morals. Trans. Cornelia Brookfield. Longon and New York: Routledge.
Durkheim, Emile (1982) The Rules of Sociological Method and Selected Texts on Sociology and Its Method. Edited with an Introduction by Steven Lukes. Trans: W.D. Halls. New York: The Free Press
Giddens, Anthony (1993) New Rules of Sociological Method: A Positive Critique of Interpretative Sociologies. Second Edition. Stanford: Stanford University Press
International Sociological Association (2001) Code of Ethics. Madrid: ISA
Jones, Robert Alun (1986) Emile Durkheim: An Introduction to Four Major Works. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. (CLICK HERE: Excerpts from Jones' book focusing on Durkheim's The Rules of Sociological Method)
Kahn, Charles H. (2003) "Presocratic Greek Ethics", pp. 1-8), in Lawrence C. Becker and Charlotte B. Becker (2003) A History of Western Ethics. Second Edition. New York: Routledge.
Leedy, Paul D (1980) Practical Research: Planning and Design. Second Edition. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co.
Roberts, Alice (2009) The Incredible Human Journey: The Story of How We Colonised the Planet. London: Bloomsbury
Sarantakos, Sortirios (1994) Social Research. London: The Macmillan Press
Weber, Max (1964) The Theory of Social and Economic Organization. Edited with an Introduction by Talcott Parsons. New York: The Free Press
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