1. Values organise facts
Holding a particular view about a problem and going out and getting facts which support this view.
-Inductive reasoning: starting with a premise or idea which we firmly believe in, and finding examples which support this view.
Advantages & Disadvantages: When we hold strongly to a particular value, it provides us with a good basis from which to collect evidence
But  at the same time, it inhibits us from understanding what we may see.  Our perception is distorted. When values are passionately held they provide a secure basis for the search for evidence but distort perception.
-when facts threaten an orderly framework by which we analyse situations, it is easier to throw out the facts than the framework.

2. Facts are compatible with different values
truth or reality is not inherent in an event itself, but in the way in which these events or facts are interpreted.
Advantages & Disadvantages: This approach allows us to see many things from many angles, but does not give us some guidelines as to which interpretation is the best; it suggests that all truth is the result of an ideological framework, and risks falling into total subjectivity (the theory that the self can be aware of nothing but its own experiences) A multi-paradigmatic perspective leads to many truths and no rules for choice; hence the scope for objective inquiry seems limited, because it bypasses the central question.

3. Facts organise values
objective enquiry enables us to discover the crucial underlying values
-deductive reasoning which enables us to examine the facts first, and then to consider the values which come from our examination (Positivism)
-reality determines what values are realizable, reducing debate because reality is master of all value choices
Advantages & Disadvantages: The interpretation of facts leads one to make value judgements, but by doing so, we exclude all other value judgements.  This also assumes that the recognition of what are the ìfactsî and the subsequent analysis is a value-neutral process. If facts determine values then the scope of moral choice is severely constrained, as politics must surrender to necessity and value options foreclose other requirements of reality.

Reinís position
ìI want to be simultaneously committed to a moral position yet at the same time to doubt that position sufficiently to want to expose it to evidence and criticism.î
Comment: In politics and/or policies, there is no such thing as reality, but there is current reality which consists of those aspects of the contemporary situation which are salient for most people in a society (or most people in a sector of society which will be affected by policy making in this area).  And it is the central question in the discussion about what contribution social science can make to policy