Thinking about different ways of knowing helps us to begin to think further about what there is to know within the social world. We have already identified that people’s own knowledge of their social world comes from a range of different sources: from their beliefs, perhaps associated with their values; from those whom they regard as authorities on differ- ent aspects of their social world; from their own experience; from their common sense of how things are; from the theories that they and others develop about how and why things happen as they do; and finally from organised collections of data or information to test out an idea or theory – or to see what is out there.
Ontology
To begin to think about what this means for us as social researchers, we now need to have a look at one of the terms already mentioned – ontology. Ontology refers to the way the so- cial world and the social phenomena or entities that make it up are viewed. These social phenomena can include social groups of people like the family or a gender or ethnic group, institutions and organisations, as well as social situations, events and social behaviour (in- cluding social research itself). What can we know about these social phenomena? What is the nature of the knowledge available to us as social researchers?
There are different ontological positions that we are going to consider, namely, objectivism, constructivism and realism.
Objectivism
Objectivism asserts that the social phenomena that make up our social world have an existence of their own (rather like our tree!), apart from and independent of the social objectivism
An ontological position which asserts that the social phenomena that make up our social world have an existence of their own, apart from and independent of the social actors (humans) who are involved.
actors (humans) who are involved. The social researcher’s relationship to the social world and the social phenomenon he is studying is therefore one of objective observation.
The objectivist position derives from the approach often taken by natural scientists who study the way the natural physical world of animals, plants, cells, atoms, nuclei and chem- ical elements behaves. This approach values the objectivity and independence of the researcher and identifies the characteristics of the social world in terms of entities which are ordered and predictable and can be identified and recorded without affecting the enti- ties themselves.
Think about it . . .
The family from an objectivist position
The family can be seen as a social unit which includes people who are related to each other by blood or law. This may be extended to groups of people who, though not related by blood or law, live as if they were related and consider themselves to be a family. The relationships may be defined by law or custom to include responsi- bilities, for example, for financial arrangements and social behaviour, particularly of children. There are certain life events that mark changes within the family – a marriage, the birth of a child, a divorce and so on – which can be identified.
Although each individual family will vary, the idea of a family as a social unit has a reality that is independent of the particular individuals who are members of it. The family represents a particular set of relationships and behaviours to which individ- ual members conform to differing degrees.
Constructivism
Constructivismasserts that the social phenomena making up our social world are only real in the sense that they are constructed ideas which are continually being reviewed and reworked by those involved in them (the social actors) through social interaction and reflection. There is no social reality apart from the meaning of the social phenomenon for the participants. However, the meanings attributed to and the understandings of a social phenomenon (like an organisation, the family, a community, social care, the law), which are constructed by the social actors, are available for study. Most importantly, the social researcher, as part of the social world herself, brings her own meanings and understandings to her study.
Think about it . . .
The family from a constructivist position
The family is seen as situated within a particular time, space and culture. It is the product of the meaning given to it by the participants. In other words, what is inter- esting – and can be studied – is what people themselves understand as ‘family’ and how they use this understanding to make sense of their lives together as a family. Relationships – like parent, child, brother, partner – are worked with on a day-to- day basis and what it means to be a parent, for example, is continually being reviewed and reworked through social interaction with each child and other members of the familyand the experiences and understandings prevalent in their time and culture. This means that ideas about parenthood within the culture itself are also contin- ually being constructed and reconstructed by its members and these ideas are demonstrated in the ways in which parenthood is discussed or written about. constructivism
An ontological position which asserts that the social phenomena mak- ing up our social world are only real in the sense that they are con- structed ideas which are continually being re- viewed and reworked by those involved in them through social interac- tion and reflection.
Think about it . . .
The family from a realist position
On the face of it, the family is a group of people with an observable set of relation- ships among them. A realist position would suggest that there are hidden mecha- nisms and structures which need to be present in order for the family to take a particular form. These could include, for example: children’s psychological need for security, physical care and continuity; biological reproduction requiring male and female involvement; formation of gender identity including sexuality, fathering and bearing children; human needs for emotional and social support.
We use theories about our social world and ourselves as social beings to help us to identify potential hidden mechanisms and understand how they work.
Realism
The objectivist and constructivist positions are often presented as incompatible opposites where each position rules out the other. This suggests that the two positions cover all there is to know about the social world.
However, some social scientists would suggest that there is more to the reality of the so- cial world than can be observed by the senses. Realismaccepts that the social world has a reality that is separate from the social actors involved in it and that this can be known through the senses. In addition to this, though, there is a dimension that is hidden from the senses, which cannot be directly observed. This hidden dimension relates to what we know about the social world as social beings who are part of the world and affects the way we behave and understand our social lives. This dimension is described as including struc- tures and mechanisms that trigger or affect the social reality that can be observed. While the mechanisms and structures themselves are not observable, their impact can be observed in the way people behave.