Group B Question 4Harriett Martineau can be considered the first sociologist, she not only influenced Marx's work on political economy, but brought positivism to the English-speaking world. Martineau was the first to collect data through observation and to speak for and to the people. Martineau's reflections on society in America are excellent examples of his sociological methods. His ideas in this field were set out in his book How to Observe Morals and Manners. He believed that some very general social laws affected the life of every society. Martineau's main contribution to sociology was his assertion that when studying society one must focus on all its aspects. He stressed the importance of examining political, religious and social institutions. Martineau believed that by studying society in this way one could deduce why inequality existed. She was also the first to create a systematic method of qualitative data; through observation. Using qualitative data is extremely important because you can examine complex issues that can be difficult with quantitative methods, it also allows Harriet to have a gift for explaining difficult ideas. He wanted people, especially the working class, to be aware of their situation, to gain awareness, by educating them through his writings, as explained through this quote: "The other method by which I propose to reduce my responsibility, is to allow my readers to judge for themselves, better than I can do for them, what my testimony is worth. To this end I offer a brief account of my travels…” (Martineau 53) describes the inequality he witnesses here in the United States , continuing to write about how women are in slavery. Tells of an encounter with a white woman who sold a black woman for $1,500, Martineau was the first to focus attention on issues relevant to Americans in my