You have probably heard the terms value free, objective, and unbiased. Some argue that social science must be as objective and unbiased as the natural science; others maintain that value-free, objective social science is impossible. This debate cannot be resolved here, but you should understand the definitions and terminology used. The easiest way to clear up confusion is to recognize that each term has at least two alternative definitions. Sometimes, two different terms share the same definitions (see Box 17.3).
The positivist approach holds that science is value free, unbiased, and objective. It collapses the definitions together. Value neutrality is guaranteed by logical-deductive, formal theory and a complete separation of facts from value-based concepts. The scientific community is free of prejudice and governed by free and open discussion. With complete value freedom and objectivity, science reveals the one and only, unified, unambiguous truth.
Max Weber, Alvin Gouldner, and Karl Mannheim are three major nonpositivist social thinkers who discussed the role of the social scientist in society. Weber (1949) argued that the fact value separation is not clear in the social science. He suggested that value-laden theories define social facts or socially meaningful action. Thus, social theories necessarily contain value-based concepts, because all concepts about the social world are created by members of specific cultures. The cultural content of social concepts cannot be purged, and socially meaningful action makes sense only in a cultural context. For example, when social researchers study racial groups, they are not interested in the biological differences between races. Race is a social concept; it is studied because the members of a culture attach social meaning to racial appearance.