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To: SunkenCiv

In any sociology class, students are reminded that researcher should respect his/her subjects’ point of view. Usually, professors use Margaret Mead (who studied Samoan people in mid 20th century) as an example of how her ‘White middle class’ background influenced her writings. This sociologist does exactly what the qualitative method text-books in sociology warn against.


7 posted on 08/23/2010 5:08:17 PM PDT by paudio (She wanted to be known as another Jackie O. Instead, people see her another Marie Antoinette)
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To: paudio
You missed the best part:

Barton combined hours of observation and analysis of museum materials into an ethnography, a detailed narrative about a place and its culture that is often used in sociology. Unlike other research methods, the ethnography does not strive for impartiality; rather, the researchers recognize and reflect on their own reactions to what they see.

What the heck type of "science" is it when you are writing about your own biases? The very basis of the scientific method is to remove bias from the process and produce results that can be tested by another scientist.

19 posted on 08/23/2010 6:52:19 PM PDT by GreenLanternCorps ("Barack Obama" is Swahili for "Jimmy Carter".)
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