When we look at a tree with our "common sense", we are unaware of the fact that, in our thought, we are isolating it as an individual entity from its environment. Without any attempt at analyzing it, we actually see it as one entity, embedded in our total field of vision. We recognize it as a tree. We "just know" that, based on our previous experience. .
In our "common sense", when "just looking ", we are not intentionally and self-consciously active. This seems to be the first notion of how common sense differs from scientific observation. When a scientist goes to work on this tree, he deliberately isolates it from its environment in his mind. He focuses his attention on it and observes that it grows from a seed, absorbs fluids, begins to swell, sends out roots, a stem and branches, leaves, etc. He lifts these various parts and functions of the tree out of the total of his impressions, he abstracts them, i.e. he begins his analysis. He has now begun to practice science. .
In the next step the scientist starts to guess how something like a seed does all these remarkable things that lead to a mature tree. This means that he now formulates theories, 'educated guesses', by which he tries to explain what happened, how the seed developed into a tree, etc. This is the point at which he is practicing science. And that brings us to the question of what we mean by the word 'theory'. .
And so, during scientific work, the scientist isolates his object under investigation, he abstract its functions, and he try to explain the events displayed by this object, as to 'cause and effect', with the aid of theories. .
Doing social science is in many ways like doing science. However, there are also important differences. In social science, social scientists use the scientific methods to understand and predict human behaviour. They are dealing with human who has intelligence and emotions. They deal with how human live and interact in the society.
