A humanistic coefficient (Polish: współczynnik humanistyczny) is a conceptual object, methodological principle, or method of conducting social research wherein data analysis stresses the perceived import of analyzed experiences to their participants.
"[4] Piotr Sztompka defines the humanistic coefficient as "a connection that exists between each social fact and actions and experiences of particular individuals, and the resulting need for those facts to be studied from specific perspective that requires the research to place him or herself in the position of those individuals.
"[5] Elżbieta Hałas in turn defines it as "the notion of the human collective's constructing and reconstructing of reality", thus related to the concept of social constructionist.
[6][8] Ken Plummer puts it curtly as "the object of study is always linked to somebody's human meanings.
[12] The humanistic coefficient concerns the ontology of culture, but it also has an epistemological aspect, as it describes how sociological concepts should be constructed in an environment where social facts investigated by the researchers can be accessed only through experiences and actions of the subjects he or she observes.