How does Sociology differ from the natural sciences?

Question

How does Sociology differ from the natural sciences?

Answer 1

Natural Sciences only deal with objective knowledge.

Sociology deals with both the objective and the subjective.

Answer 2

Their is one big difference with natural sciences they are objective. They only work with facts with sociology it really is subjective. (of course their are theorists and theories that claim to be scientific, positivist and use methods such as interviewing)  in addition with sociology people still can't agree what it actually is, e.g. is it about individual interactions between individuals (interactionist perspectives) or is it about social structures such as education and family (structural) with natural sciences people can easily define what they are studying.  Hope this helped.

Answer 3

It's about people

Answer 4

Both use the scientific method, and both attempt to maintain objectivity in studying their respective subject matter. Whether or not any science, natural or social, actually studies "objective" reality is a philosophical debate; thus, the objectivity of the subject matter is NOT what distinguishes the two.

Simply put, sociology is the study of human social behavior, social organization, and social change. As such, sociology covers a broad range of subjects, from micro-level interactions to macro-level structural arrangements. Similarly, in the natural sciences, some study molecular structures, others study atomic structures, while some (even more micro) focus on sub-atomic particles. Thus, while sociologists do study a different level of analysis, the fact that distinctions exist among sociologists (e.g., interactionists vs. structuralists) is NOT what distinguishes natural science from sociology.

So, what does? The primary difference is the subject matter. One studies "nature," another studies people, social groups, etc. This is actually a larger difference than it may appear, as humans/social groups may change after they are studied. For instance, imagine reading a study that reports your city as having a high unemployment rate and high poverty, while a nearby city is reported to have a lower unemployment rate and a much higher average standard of living. If enough people in your city read the results of this study, you may see people in your city moving to find jobs in the nearby city. As people move and these rates change, the sociologist's results become obsolete - in studying social organization, the sociologist inadvertently contributed to social change. (Note also that in this example, the study described focused on "objective" data - unemployment rates and average incomes).