Conceptualization and Construction of Concepts in Sociology: An Analytical Approach

Abstract

Engaging in scientific research is a complex process that must adhere to a set of theoretical and methodological guidelines, foremost among them being the correct selection of the research question and the identification of the fundamental concepts governing it as independent and dependent variables.

Perhaps the most complex steps are those related to conceptualization and construction, as they directly influence the identification of the key indicators upon which the survey or any research tool is built. Consequently, they directly and indirectly influence the research outcomes.

Observing reality and developing inferential capabilities to understand it can only come through thorough scrutiny of its components and realities beyond mental assumptions. This imposes on sociological researchers, in particular, the necessity of having a logical and realistic imagination capable of naming phenomena by their terms, without relying on moral judgments or general mental conclusions.

Hence, the crucial stage of conceptualization and construction becomes paramount in order to achieve realistic results that express the truth of the phenomenon. Concepts, therefore, are the key to social research because their construction represents the transition from abstraction to the tangible and, consequently, to results capable of relative generalization.

In this paper, we will discuss a set of elements that serve researchers to distinguish between a set of intertwined concepts such as term, concept, and definition on one hand, and on the other hand, we will attempt to focus on an important point overlooked by researchers in the social sciences, which is the distinction between the stages of concept identification and concept construction.