QUANTITATIVE METHODS AND RESEARCH IN SOCIAL SCIENCE: LOGIC AND UTILITY OF THE USE OF QUANTIFICATION IN THE EXPLANATIONS OF SOCIAL PHENOMENA

The article presents a theoretical analysis on methodological foundations (not only procedural) of so-called "quantitative methods" in social science research, which are often – but mistakenly – reduced to the idea of "quantification techniques". The article presents and discusses the dependence that the choice of method has with respect to the type of research problem we formulate as well as to hypotheses; the logic underlying the so-called "quantitative method". Furthermore, the article presents some considerations on the use of quantitative methods in Brazilian Social Sciences.