Sociology has been studying how to solve social problems through innovation, but this has caused some debate as it goes against the discipline's aim to be seen as a hard science. Sociologists have been looking at how social innovation is organized by institutions, networks, social movements, and organizations. They have been criticized for this work, but they are responding to these critiques. The question remains whether sociologists' research on social innovation has helped them reform and explain society, and what more studies are needed.