During the week of February 5-9, 2018, The Institute for the Study of Western Civilization at Texas Tech University hosted a weeklong series of lectures commemorating Science and the Scientific Revolution. On February 9th, Professor Maloney spoke about the nature of proof in social science research and how the applicability and utility of the scientific method has shifted in the social sciences over the past two hundred years. The talk begins by sketching out the historical conflict between positivism and antipositivism, then address how sociological research in particular has grappled with the concepts of authenticity, replicability, and generalizability. In short, is sociology a science or an art? Professor Maloney will focus on this question, as well as address the current struggle between sociology, journalism, and the law concerning the elements required to prove one's analytical assertions.