Introduction to Social Sciences and Historiography

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers the etymology of social science, its various branches, types of historical sources, and the study of historiography as presented in the lecture notes.

Sociare / Socius

The Latin words from which "Social" is derived, meaning to associate with or be a companion.

Scire

The Latin word from which "Science" is derived, meaning to know.

Social Science

The scientific study of human society, social relationships, and social behavior.

Society

A group of people with a common objective.

Social behavior

How an individual acts or interacts and reacts to what is happening in society.

Anthropology

A branch of social science that studies how man developed and culture.

Culture

A way of life or a view of life.

Geography

The study of how man divided the earth, derived from the words Geos (earth) and Graphier (to write).

Sociology

The study of how man relates with man's social relationships.

Psychology

The study of how man behaves in society.

Economics

The study of how man divides resources.

Political Science

The study of how man governs himself and the determination of who gets what, when, and how.

Linguistics

The study of how man communicates through words created out of sounds.

Law

The study of how man should act in society, defining what one should and should not do.

Moral

What an individual personally believes is right and wrong.

Ethics

What society believes is right.

History

A branch of social science exploring how man interacted with time.

Historiography

The study of history and the methodology of a discipline; it is the study of changing interpretations of past events through the eyes of historians.

Primary Source

Direct or firsthand evidence about events, objects, persons, or works of art, such as legal documents, eyewitness accounts, or statistical data.

Secondary Source

Documents that describe, discuss, interpret, analyze, evaluate, or summarize primary sources, such as newspapers or popular magazines.

Tertiary Source

A pull-together of separate but related primary and secondary accounts, such as books and articles based exclusively on secondary sources.