The Imperative of Unity Between Values and Science in Social Research

• In Event: History of Sociology and Social Thought Section Open Call Paper Session

Abstract

This article examines the issue of values in social research. Rejecting the categorization of social inquiry as either value-free or ideology-driven, I conceptualize social research as enactment studies, for which the unity of values and science is imperative. Drawing on the concepts of ontological malleability and open futures, I argue that social inquiries must integrate scientific reasoning with normative commitments, seeking not only to understand the world but also to improve it. As such, social research must involve both values and science; their unity commits social researchers to studying the enactment possibilities as well as the structural constraints of the social world. While researchers should allow their values to guide their inquiries, the disciplines of social research should remain value-neutral, and the broader society in which social research is embedded should be value-tolerant. The purpose of this multi-level approach is to protect value diversity in social research.

Author

• Shanyang Zhao, Temple University