Which early sociologist is credited with contributions to the founding of sociology and the integration of science into social study?

• A. Auguste Comte
• B. Harriet Martineau
• C. Karl Marx
• D. Emile Durkheim

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is identifying who first framed sociology as a field that can be studied with scientific methods. Auguste Comte is the best answer because he coined the term sociology and championed positivism—the view that social life can be understood through empirical observation, data, and the discovery of laws, much like the natural sciences. He urged treating society with the same rigorous, systematic methods used in science, laying the groundwork for sociology to be a distinct, empirical discipline rather than a branch of philosophy or theology. Harriet Martineau contributed by translating and popularizing his ideas and writing about social issues, but she did not found the field. Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim were influential in shaping sociology’s later development—Marx through class analysis and critique, Durkheim through rigorous methods and the concept of social facts—but the attribution of founding sociology and integrating science into its study goes to Comte.