What is Objectivity?

About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about the concept of objectivity as it developed in the social sciences during the twentieth century, focusing in particular on: (i) the idea of objectivity in the early twentieth century as a commitment to documenting the world as it really is, not how people think it should be; (ii) the emergence of criticisms of this notion of objectivity in the 1960s; (iii) some central questions associated with objectivity in sociology; (iv) some key perspectives on what objectivity means and its role in social research.

About the lecturer

Professor Martyn Hammersley is Emeritus Professor of Educational and Social Research at the Open University. His work focuses on issues in sociological research methods, particularly relating to objectivity and bias. His recent publications include The Concept of Culture: A History and Reappraisal (2019), The Radicalism of Ethnomethodology: An Assessment of Sources and Principles (2018) and The Limits of Social Science: Causal Explanation and Value Relevance (2014).