ABSTRACT
Sociologists are often seen as people who do interviews, conduct social surveys or design questionnaires. Maybe. But they are hardly alone in this: many other groups use such research tools. What make sociologists distinctive are their ‘questions’ and ‘perspectives’. From these they select any and all methods that empower them to engage critically with a wide range of data. Practically, sociologists always need to develop a close awareness of the empirical world we live in – looking and listening carefully, engaging with people and their plights and thinking deeply. We observe the world in many different ways, come to appreciate its multiplicities, complexities and inner meanings and engage with it through all our senses. In doing this
lies the excitement and challenge of sociological method. We match our methods with our problems and research topics. In doing all this, the aim is ultimately to tell the truth with an ‘adequate objectivity’, a fair enough neutrality. But all this is simple to say and so much harder to do: there is much controversy between sociologists as to just exactly how this can or should be done. This is the focus of this chapter, dealing again with introductory, but difficult, matters.
