Is Sociology a general science or specific science?

General. This paragraph explains why...

Sociology is the scientific study of society. It is a social science which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity. For many sociologists the goal is to conduct research which may be applied directly tosocial policy and welfare, while others focus primarily on refining the theoretical understanding of social processes. Subject matter ranges from themicro level of individual agency and interaction to the macro level of systems and the social structure.

The traditional focuses of sociology have included social stratification, social class, social mobility, religion, secularisation, law, and deviance. As all spheres of human activity are affected by the interplay between social structure and individual agency, sociology has gradually expanded its focus to further subjects, such as health, medical, military and penal institutions, the internet, and the role of social activity in the development ofscientific knowledge.

The range of social scientific methods has also expanded. Social researchers draw upon a variety of qualitative and quantitative techniques. Thelinguistic and cultural turns of the mid-twentieth century led to increasingly interpretative, hermeneutic, and philosophic approaches to the analysis of society. Conversely, recent decades have seen the rise of new analytically, mathematically and computationally rigorous techniques, such asagent-based moDELLing and social network analysis. Sociology should not be confused with various general social studies courses which bear little relation to sociological theory or social science research methodology.