Which kind of data do positivists prefer?

quantitative. Numbers can be counted, compared and checked.

What is a macro view?

a study of society as a whole. Macro means large scale.

What does reliability mean?

repeating the research gives the same results. A reliable method can be checked by repeating it.

Which method would a positivist be most likely to choose?

a questionnaire with closed questions. It gives numbers from a large sample.

Crime is higher in areas with more unemployment. What does this show?

a correlation between the two. The two change together. That alone does not prove one causes the other.

The positivist approach · Cambridge IGCSE Sociology revision

In plain words

Can you study people the way a chemist studies salt? Positivists say yes. Count things, look for patterns, test your ideas against the numbers, and keep your own opinions out of it.

8 things to know

Positivists believe that society can be studied using the scientific method: form a hypothesis, collect data to test it, and draw a conclusion from the evidence.
They take a macro view. They look at society as a whole and at large groups, and not at individuals one by one.
They study social facts. A social fact is something that exists in society outside any one person and shapes how people behave, such as laws, customs and the rate of divorce.
They prefer quantitative data, which is data in the form of numbers. Their methods are questionnaires, structured interviews and official statistics.
They look for patterns and trends. A pattern is a regular feature in the data, such as girls achieving higher grades than boys. A trend is the direction of change over time, such as a falling birth rate.
A correlation is when two things change together. Causation is when one thing makes the other happen. Positivists want to find causes, and a correlation alone does not prove one.
Objectivity means that the researcher's own opinions do not affect the research. Reliability means that if the research is repeated in the same way, it gives the same results.
Criticism: numbers show what people do, but not why. People are not objects. They think, and they give meanings to what they do.

Worked example

A positivist wants to find out whether poverty affects exam results. Describe how the research would be done.

Form a hypothesis: "pupils from low-income families get lower exam results".
Collect quantitative data from a large sample, for example official statistics on family income and exam grades.
Look for a pattern in the numbers. If results fall as income falls, there is a correlation.
Stay objective, and describe the method exactly so that someone else could repeat it.

Tips and tricks

Link the approach to its method and its goal: positivist, quantitative, reliable. Three words that travel together.
A correlation is not a cause. Ice cream sales and sunburn rise together, and neither causes the other.

5 questions, about 2 minutes.

It lands in your notebook with its questions as flashcards.

The positivist approach: 5 questions and answers

These are the quiz’s questions. Do the quiz first, then come back here for the ones that got you.

Which kind of data do positivists prefer?
- qualitative
- quantitative (the answer)
- personal
- subjective
Numbers can be counted, compared and checked.
What is a macro view?
- a study of society as a whole (the answer)
- a study of small groups
- a study of one person in depth
- a study with no hypothesis
Macro means large scale.
What does reliability mean?
- the research gives a true picture
- the sample is large
- the researcher is trained
- repeating the research gives the same results (the answer)
A reliable method can be checked by repeating it.
Which method would a positivist be most likely to choose?
- a questionnaire with closed questions (the answer)
- an unstructured interview
- covert participant observation
- reading personal diaries
It gives numbers from a large sample.
Crime is higher in areas with more unemployment. What does this show?Stretch
- unemployment causes crime
- a correlation between the two (the answer)
- crime causes unemployment
- that the data are unreliable
The two change together. That alone does not prove one causes the other.

5 questions

Tap an answer and you’ll see straight away whether it’s right, and why.

Worksheet

3 questions, 10 marks. Write your answers on paper, then check them.

The positivist approach

Cambridge IGCSE Sociology 0495 · 10 marks · papermunch.org

Name ______________________________ Date ______________

What is meant by the term "quantitative data"?[2]
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Data in the form of numbers, such as statistics, which can be counted and measured.
I got this one
Describe two features of the positivist approach.[4]
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Any two, each described: it uses the scientific method, testing a hypothesis against evidence; it takes a macro view, studying society as a whole; it uses quantitative data to find patterns and trends; it aims to be objective and reliable.
I got this one
Explain the difference between correlation and causation.[4]
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A correlation is when two things change together, for example low income and low exam results. Causation is when one of them actually makes the other happen. A correlation does not prove causation, because a third factor could be the cause of both.
I got this one

Answers: The positivist approach

1. Data in the form of numbers, such as statistics, which can be counted and measured.
2. Any two, each described: it uses the scientific method, testing a hypothesis against evidence; it takes a macro view, studying society as a whole; it uses quantitative data to find patterns and trends; it aims to be objective and reliable.
3. A correlation is when two things change together, for example low income and low exam results. Causation is when one of them actually makes the other happen. A correlation does not prove causation, because a third factor could be the cause of both.