This study aims to present an adapted methodology based on critical realism for the investigation of social phenomena in Iran. According to the critical realist approach, social reality is multi-layered, encompassing the empirical level, underlying structures, and causal mechanisms, and understanding it requires moving beyond surface-level observations to deeper layers. By reviewing and comparing existing realist methodological models, this article highlights the necessity of localizing and redesigning research methods for the Iranian context. The proposed model comprises eight stages: description, analytical decomposition, retroductive prediction, retroduction, comparison and refinement, objectification and contextualization, triangulation, and correction. Each stage is designed to enable researchers to identify the constituent elements and generative mechanisms of social reality, produce multi-layered and valid explanations, and align their analysis with Iran’s historical, cultural, and institutional context. Emphasizing reflexivity, continuous critique, and flexibility, this methodology facilitates the discovery of unseen causal mechanisms and the provision of realistic, context-sensitive explanations of complex social phenomena in Iran. The findings provide both practical and theoretical guidance for social science researchers in Iran, enabling them to employ critical realism to generate deep, valid, and locally grounded analyses.