There is such a thing as sociological knowledge. Sociology is not based on opinions like some people may suggest. It is factual and verifiable by research that was supported by statistics. A diversity of research methods that can be premised on the scientific method can be used in the work of sociologists to check whether hypotheses are true; however, they also use research methods that are based on how people perceive and think of their own social situation. There are standards that sociologists are expected to live up to in order to make sure that their behavior is ethical and that nobody in their research is harmed, and also that their research is done morally and fairly. There are two extensive points of view regarding research methods. They are called qualitative and quantitative. Research methods in sociology are associated with either of these viewpoints, and a lot of the time sociologists use research methods that include both qualitative and quantitative research together. Quantitative and qualitative research both involve their own unique techniques and systems of gathering data and information.
From this site I learned that it takes more than having opinions to be a sociologist. I learned that there are right and wrong answers in this field of study, and that in order to find the right answers sociologists must do extensive research that is supported by data and verifiable information. The scientific method is used a lot by sociologists to try to determine whether or not hypotheses about what they are studying are true. Other than the scientific method, sociologists also do research that is based on what people or groups of people think about their own social dynamics. Sociologists are expected to work ethically when studying and doing research. This site also talks about qualitative and quantitative viewpoints, which are discussed in the textbook as well. The research practices used by sociologists are connected to either one of or both of these views. According to the textbook, quantitative research has to do with information that is based on numbers and math, and qualitative research is all about information that is not related to numbers(Ferris & Stein, 2018). Some examples of qualitative research are “texts, written field notes, interview transcripts, videos, or photographs.”(Ferris & Stein, 2018, pg. 41).
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