The methodology applied by Emile Durkheim.

Contrary to the beliefs of positivists, social truths are not limited to those that can be observed.

Social facts➔ statistical data➔ correlation➔ causation➔ multivariate analysis

After establishing the connections discussed above, Durkheim used multivariate analysis to single out the essential variables and assess whether or not there was a true causal link between the components and suicide. For instance, he found that a high degree of education was associated with a high suicide rate.   However, they regarded it as a less important component than religion because Jews had a low suicide rate while having high levels of education.

The comparative technique was what Durkheim utilized to explain how one set of social facts explains another set of social facts. For example, throughout his research on suicide rates, he discovered the different sorts of social groupings that exhibited high and low rates of suicide. He analyzed these groups to understand their differences and how those characteristics may account for the disparate mortality rates.