Sociology as a Scientific Discipline

Science has been discussed in detail with its characteristics. The disciplines, which qualify the above-discussed characteristics, will be called science, otherwise not. In the heading science as knowledge, we have concepts; sociology has its concepts like Role, status, society, personality, group etc. All these concepts are interrelated with one Another. There is rational and reasonable explanation for these concepts and its Interrelationship. Keeping the explanation a base the sociologists predict human behavior. In science as methods we have disused that the events are not accepted true or can not be rejected unless they are observed. Then the contributing factors can be recorded which affect the event and forwarded to verification and re verification for validity and in validity. The invalid factors are dropped and the valid ones are accepted and are statistically measured. Sociologists do the same practice as the scientists are doing. In science as tools, the tools applied in science are discussed in sociology the tools are Interview schedule, questionnaire, sampling etc. for the data collection. From the above discussion it can be concluded that sociological knowledge qualifies the Stages that science qualifies. So we can say that sociology is a science. Moreover sociology is a science because it follows the following scientific methods or Procedures.

The scientific method consists upon the following steps.

• Identification and statement of the problem.
• Scope and universe of the study.
• Purpose of the study.
• Objectives of the study.
• Hypothesis of the study
• Methodology
• Sampling / Case Study / Survey
• Tools of data collection
• Construction of Questionnaire/Interview Schedule/FGD Guide
• Data Collection/Analysis
• Data Presentation
• Time Budgeting
• Cost Budgeting
• Report Writing

The above steps are followed in scientific procedure of study, which are also utilizing by sociology Therefore we can say that sociology is a scientific discipline.

SCOPE OF SOCIOLOGY. Society is a web of social institutions. These institutions i.e. family, education, religion, political, economic etc. are inter related and inter-dependent on one another. Since all aspects of society are inter-connected and inter-linked with each other as the parts of human body, it is therefore essential that the subject of sociology should study society as a whole. Sociology studies social life as a whole. Being the study of society, the scope of sociology is very wide. The subject does not confine its study to only economic or political life of human beings but to all aspects of life with which man in society is concerned. Therefore we say that sociology is the mother of all social sciences.