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OBJECTIVITY

Sociologyindex, Sociology Books 2011

The term 'objectivity' is used in two distinct but related ways. 

The first refers to the actions of a social scientist: assuming a position of disinterestedness or impartiality, or being open-minded in the assessment of evidence. Objectivity is thought to be central to the procedures of the scientific method. 

The second meaning refers to the nature of the statements people make: a statement can be objective as opposed to the scientist being objective. An objective statement is one which can be agreed upon by others regardless of their backgrounds or biases.

Objectivity in Social Science 
Toward a Hermeneutical Evolutionary Theory 
Ricardo Waizbort, Casa de Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Brazil 
Philosophy of the Social Sciences, Vol. 34, No. 1, 151-162 (2004) DOI: 10.1177/0048393103261740 © 2004 SAGE Publications
Austin Harrington’s book, Hermeneutic Dialogue and Social Science: A critique of Gadamer and Habermas, intends to present an account of debates on objectivity in the social sciences, in stressing the political and epistemological responsibility, in public spheres, to those who want to create a fairer understanding of societies and history, without demonizing natural enterprises or leaving social studies out of acute critical questioning. - pos.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/34/1/151

The objectivity norm in American journalism 
Michael Schudson, University of California, San Diego, USA 
Journalism, Vol. 2, No. 2, 149-170 (2001) © 2001 SAGE Publications
Why did the occupational norm of 'objectivity' arise in American journalism? This question has attracted the interest of many journalism historians but it has not previously been examined as an instance of a more general social phenomenon, the emergence of new cultural norms and ideals. Four conditions for the emergence of new norms are identified - two having to do with the self-conscious pursuit of internal group solidarity; and two having to do with the need to articulate the ideals of social practice in a group in order to exercise control over subordinates and to pass on group culture to the next generation. Reviewing the history of the professionalization of American journalism, this essay identifies the late 19th and early 20th century as the period when these conditions crystallized. Alternative technological and economic explanations of the emergence of objectivity are criticized and the difficulty of understanding why objectivity as a norm emerged first and most fully in the United States rather than in European journalism is discussed. - jou.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/2/2/149

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