Opinion|Reader’s opinion
The researcher must genuinely listen to the subjects.
In Helsingin Sanomat a survey by the National Center for the Evaluation of Education (Karvi) to find out the experiences of fifth-graders with bullying and prejudice (HS 2.10., 5.10.). We want to spark a debate about the relationship between research objectives and selected methods, questions, and research ethics. As researchers in sociology, we emphasize that difficult things must be able to be studied, but only with the right kind of research methods and in accordance with good research ethics.
The social sciences recognize that the stills and concepts chosen for the surveys are not neutral. The choice of questions and arguments guides the respondent to think through them. If the subject of the research is not known well enough, there is a danger that instead of producing new knowledge, old thought patterns and prejudices will be repeated.
Karv’s survey made claims related to the intelligence or learning of different groups. The divisions between different Finns and foreigners or between the poor and the rich do not correspond to the everyday life of a multicultural and socio-economically diverse school and to the children’s own, different interpretations of the ways in which they belong or do not belong together.
There has been a consensus in sociological childhood research for decades that methods based on observation and interview work best to understand the world of children. With such methods, it is possible to listen to the children’s own views and understand, for example, what kind of group dynamics prevail in school.
This requires the researcher to encounter and listen to the child. At the same time, however, it is possible for the researcher to find new information. The research should genuinely respect the subjects’ own perceptions and experiences of the phenomenon under study and not guide the subjects.
Elina Paju
Doctor of Political Science, University Lecturer in Sociology, University of Helsinki
Salla Sariola
PhD, docent, university lecturer in sociology, University of Helsinki
Karoliina Snell
Doctor of Political Science, Docent, University Lecturer in Sociology,
university of Helsinki
Reader opinions are speeches written by HS readers, selected and delivered by HS editorial. You can leave a comment or read the principles of writing at www.hs.fi/kirjtamielipidekirjoitus/.
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