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A method is a way or manner of discovering the truth. A scientific method is often equalised with the essence of science. The scientific methodology defines logical, technical, organisational, and strategic rules by means of which certain knowledge is obtained. Moreover, the methodology of science provides instructions about what is to be done and how in order to make scientific discoveries. On the other hand, methods can be approached from two points of view, which make a distinction between the essential and technical aspects of the very research:
A method is also the way in which the knowledge about the object of study belonging to a specific scientific field is obtained. The object of study in a specific scientific field is determined by the method. The human body can be taken as an example. Physics studies it from the aspect of the motion of the physical body, biology from the aspect of the functions of the living organism, psychology through conscious behaviour, sociology determines how such behaviour and other people’s behaviour intertwine to form a social phenomenon. However, even when we define the method, we do not know what it comprises, which results in different interpretations of the concept of the scientific method. Basically, the purpose of a method is to ensure obtaining a more profound knowledge on the object of study within a certain scientific field based on the existing knowledge (Pečujlić, 1982, p. 175).
Broadly speaking, a method comprises three elements:
The research process implies all the activities necessary to obtain the knowledge about an object. The existing knowledge is usually insufficient. It is later into the research process that the existing knowledge is complemented. The means are something specific (actions and tools) used to study an object. The concept of a method is very often related only to the general rules of the scientific research process, whereas the means are referred to as research techniques (Lukić, 1989 p. 48). A method, as a research practice of a scientific field, always depends on its content and therefore cannot be determined only by general, logical principles and technical means used. Different scientific fields use the same technical means in their research, but not the same methods because of the different object of study, which requires a different approach to reality. So, the specifics of methods of a certain scientfic field can be determined only if the main objectives of its research are taken into account. The contemporary methodological practicism has completely neglected the content-based definition of a sociological method, tending to replace the term sociological method itself with the term social research (Milić, 1996, p. 233).
The progress in sociological methodology mostly involves the improvement of the existing and discovery of new data collection methods, which has improved the exactness of Sociology, and developed it from the scientific perspective so that it can compete with natural sciences. Such sudden development of methods has some disadvantages, too. Most sociologists have started shying away from the scientific explanation of facts exactly because it cannot be reached by the exact methods used for the collection of data. This leaves us without any valuable scientific conclusion. As for the contemporary data collection methods, team work on data collection is important because social phenomena are becoming more complex, and it is impossible for one scientist to notice and collect everything properly. Such work requires a precisely determined, thorough and strict work plan, especially when a wider social entity is explored with regard to all the aspects of its social life. Some examples of this include the study of a settlement, class, stratum (Pečujlić, 1982). Data collection methods, or observation in a broader sense, are divided into six basic types:
As for the methods of knowledge acquisition, we can distinguish between:
General methods are more or less used in all scientific fields. They include the general and specific dialectical method, modelling method, statistical method, and axiomatic method. Besides general methods, there is a range of specific fundamental methods such as analysis and synthesis, classification and generalisation, induction and deduction, as well as basic scientific procedures and cognitive processes such as concept defining, hypothesis setting, proving attitudes, checking the obtained scientific knowledge, etc. (Šešić, 1979, p. 7).
