The Social Sciences

Why Should I Care?

Each discipline of social science has a unique personality. Whether it's a propensity for field work, or for being obsessed with statistics, social scientists have very different ways of conducting their research, depending on the discipline they belong to.

This lesson has 2 parts

• Disciplines of Social Science
  
• Science and its applications
  

What are the Social Sciences?

Social sciences are scientific disciplines interested in understanding human behaviour as a cultural construct. Each discipline is different, but often times there are overlaps, so it's important to see the fundamental differences between them.

• Disciplines of Social Science

Here are the main social sciences, and what they focus on the most. These definitions are rather brief, and are meant to help students parse the disciplines apart.

Anthropology
Derived from Ancient Greek: anthro, which means human, and logy, which refers to logic, this discipline is mostly interested in how people exist as cultures and societies. Anthropologists are notorious for conducting fieldwork and becoming part of isolated communities, such as Indigenous peoples. They are also interested in ancient civilizations, so they are known to work closely with archaeologists. Finally, they also use their knowledge and tools to understand modern cultures, and are often working on issues of ergonomy, which is how people use space and infrastructure around them.

Economics
Derived from ecos, and nomos, in Ancient Greek, which refer to the rules of proper governance of the home, this discipline is very influential with governments and is interested in understanding the best way to use our scarce resources to produce goods and services. Economists are notorious for using mathematical modelling, and statistical analysis. They are interested in helping consumers and producers understand markets, as well as work with governments to design taxes and regulations which can affect the economy.

Geography
Derived from geo (earth) and graphos (to write about), in Ancient Greek, this discipline focuses on how people act and think over space. Geographers study the physical aspects of the earth and its atmosphere, and the social aspects such as the distribution of populations and resources, land use, and industries. Notorious for mapping social data.

History
Derived from the Ancient Greek word historia, which originally meant inquiry, this discipline is focused on understanding past events. Historians are notorious for their extensive documentary research, and often insist on written sources to formalize their understanding of the past.

Political Science
Derived from Aristotle's classic work, Politiká, which meant the 'affairs of the cities', this discipline is interested in systems of governance, organization, and power. Political scientists are known for being experts in government rules and regulations, in their constitutions and the implications of democracy for society.

Psychology
Derived from the Ancient Greek psyche, which refers to the mind, spirit, and soul, this discipline is focused on how people feel and behave individually, and relative to other groups. Psychologists are notorious for their interest in relationships, and well-being.

Sociology
Derived from the Ancient Greek socius, which refers to groups, to companionship, and to associates, and logos, which refers to speech and logic. The word sociology was coined by French economist Auguste Comte in 1838 in a hope to unify all studies of humankind--including history, psychology and economics. Sociology is known for its study of relationships of dominant groups and sub-groups in societies.

• Science and its applications
  

The goal of science is to build knowledge which helps to understand the world, but also to help solve real-life problems. This duality of approaches leads to an important distinction between pure scientific inquiry, and technological applications.

This duality is present in many sciences, although the natural sciences tend to separate the technological fields out of their realms more neatly. For example, those who are interested in understanding the forces of gravity will study physics, a 'pure' science interested mostly in understanding how physical forces act in nature. Those who are interested in applying physics knowledge to building bridges, and skyscrapers will study engineering, which is a set of technologies mostly borne out of the sciences.

In social science, this duality is also present. For example, in psychology, those who wish to study the brain and its functions will consider themselves to conduct 'pure' scientific inquiry, in this case neuro-psychology. Those who wish to help people by applying the knowledge developed in psychology over centuries, will study clinical psychology.

In the case of macro-economics, an example of pure social science would be university scholars studying business cycles and recessions. An application of this work ends up in the hands of economists working for governments, banks and other institutions. They are usually using models that apply knowledge developed by academics.

In geography, academics will focus on developing theoretical understandings of the environment and how humans organize themselves over space. Applications of geography can be used in many fields, such as geo-marketing, where advertising can be targeted to specific areas using computerized mapping software.