Final answer:
Comte believed in studying society empirically through positivism, using methods like empirical observation and experimentation. Specifically, the three basic methods for sociology he influenced are experiments, surveys, and field research. It's essential that research using these methods ensures accuracy, validity, and reliability.
Step-by-step explanation:
Auguste Comte's influence on sociology is substantial, and his proposed methods for conducting social research are foundational to the field. The question concerns Comte's three basic methods for sociology/doing social research. Comte's theory posits that sociology, which he termed as positivism, could be studied empirically to promote human progress. He suggested methods such as empirical observation, experimentation, and comparison to understand society.
However, the specific three basic methods for sociology you may be referring to are the overarching scientific approaches used in sociological research. These include: experiments, surveys, and field research. These methods allow sociologists to gather and analyze data systematically. Experiments can test hypotheses under controlled conditions, surveys can collect data from a large number of people quickly, and field research can provide a deep, qualitative understanding of social processes in a natural setting.
Remember that accuracy, validity, and reliability are critical in research methodology. Accuracy refers to how well the results of the study capture what they are supposed to measure, validity concerns whether the research actually measures what it purports to measure, and reliability indicates the consistency of a measure across different observations or points in time.