Sociologists study humans and their interactions, and for that, they use such approaches as surveys, experiments, calculations, and field research. As scientists, sociologists follow a particular scientific research process that obtains likely results. For instance, the scientific method requires building and examining theories about humans’ interactions based on empirical knowledge. The scientific method can be described as a series of steps: asking a question – literature review – building a hypothesis – conducting a study – concluding – reporting results (Lumen learning).
Asking a question is the first step of the scientific method. Thus, the researcher defines the problem and specifies the field of interest. In the next step, the researcher reviews existing literature in order to get to know prior studies in this field. Then, the researcher builds a hypothesis, which is an educated guess about the predicted consequences of the different variables. For instance, a hypothesis usually predicts how the behavior of a person affects the behavior of another.
Furthermore, the researcher conducts a reliable study, which means that the study can be replicated by another researcher, given that the latter follows the prescribed procedure. In conclusion, researcher must provide valid results. The validity of the study determines how well the study measures aspects, which the it aimed to assess. In other words, validity shows that the researcher reports the results precisely congruent with the study’s goal and nothing else (Lumen learning).
In summary, the scientific method allows researchers to adhere to a certain series of steps. Following these steps provide room for development of scientific society. Given the researcher follows these steps, his or her work can be easily evaluated by the scientific society, which eliminates inappropriate works drawing false or erroneous conclusions and appreciates reliable and valid works that further enhances.
Work Cited
Lumen Learning. “The Scientific Method | Introduction to Sociology.” Lumen. Web.