Conceptualizing social reality

Conceptualizing social reality asks how sociologists can study a world that is already interpreted by the people living in it. Philosophy of science supplies criteria for good explanation, epistemology asks what counts as knowledge, hermeneutics insists on meaning, and objectivity and reflexivity ask how the researcher's position shapes findings. For example, counting school dropouts tells you how many left, but only interviews can tell you whether leaving felt like failure, freedom, or family duty.