Sociological inquiry is holistic in maintaining that human action can be understood only by linking it organically to the whole of social life. Social theories are central to sociological investigation, in part, because they provide comprehensive statements regarding the connections among the various facets of social life. In this way sociology may be distinguished from disciplines like economics and political science that focus on a particular dimension of social life as the center of their inquiry. Sociological inquiry is analytical . The political implications that particular sociologists draw from such a critical understanding may vary from conservative to radical, but critique is common among all sociological analysis.
Sociology demands empirical evidence that links sociological ideas to lived experience.
Sociologists employ a wide variety of techniques to collect and analyze the data of human experience, but all sociological knowledge must be grounded in some form of empirical or historical reality. Finally, sociology is a morally engaged discipline. The substance of sociological inquiry has direct relevance for ethical issues regarding the human condition. Sociologists differ in whether or not they maintain that sociological inquiry can or should serve as a basis for establishing moral truths. Nevertheless, the systematic investigation of what is in our society, particularly those aspects of society that we identify as social problems, naturally raises ethical questions about how society should be.