INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL SCIENCES

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL SCIENCES

an umbrella term for academic disciplines
explores human societies & social relationships
includes the study of people as;
- individuals & members of groups
- families & tribes
- communities & subcultures
also includes;
- history & civics
- economics & politics
anthro, psych & socio are sciences because
- they all investigate human behavior
- done in a scientific manner
- all have a defined process of inquiry
- systematic study through research methods
- uses the scientific method
broken down into;
- physical sciences
- examples;
  - chemistry & biology
  - physics & geology
  - anatomy & astronomy
- systematic studies
- focuses on different aspects of the physical world
- social sciences
- examples;
  - psychology & sociology
  - anthropology & history
  - geography & economics
- they are all the study of humans as social beings
- studies the web of relationships they create
- humanities
- examples;
  - art & philosophy
- they focuses on things that humans create
more about social sciences;
- history
- study of the past
- particularly about humans
- written & oral accounts
  - what happened
  - why it happened
- geography
- study of the earth
- studies earth’s place in the universe
- studies how people use the earth
- economics
- study of resources
- studies how people use them
- focuses on money & wealth
- politics
- study of power, politics & government
- looks at how people use these elements
- how do they find success & happiness
- anthropology
- the study of people
- past civilizations & current cultures
- psychology
- the study of the behavior of individuals
- examines the ways people;
  - develop & learn
  - act/their behavior
- sociology
- studies the ways people act & behave in groups
- looks at relationships
- organization/interaction of people in groups & social situations
- each social science studies a different aspect of human behavior
- named social sciences because it studies humans as social beings
a closer look into anthropology;
- study of humans in the widest sense
- provides the big picture
- tries to understand who we are as humans
- includes the study of;
- human biology
- physical evolution
- cultures
- adaptation
- has 4 sub-disciplines/branches
- cultural anthropology
  - focuses on cultural behavior
  - cultural institutions
  - variation in culture
- physical anthropology
  - studies humans as a biological species
  - includes subtopics of;
  - human evolution
  - biology & variation
  - adaptation & disease interaction
  - archaeology
  - study of material remains of past societies
  - linguistics
  - study of language
a closer look into psychology;
- study of human mental processes & behavior
- how do individuals cope with life’s demands & problems?
- experimental psychologists come up with theories that try to comprehend what guides our thinking & actions
- clinical psychologists use their understanding of;
- overt actions
  - how people behave in certain situations
- mental processes
  - how people think, feel, remember & learn
- they study emotions to help individuals who have psychological problems
- anger, grief, depression
a closer look into sociology;
- study of people in groups & within social structures
- studies the actions of individuals within a particular group
- tries to detect general patterns of human behavior
- examines how the categories we belong to shape our experiences
- adolescents & gender
- ethnicity & socio-economic status
- study of how society as a whole can influence our thoughts, feelings & actions
the social inquiry model/scientific method;
- outlines the proper scientific steps
- all social scientists use this
- investigates various problems
- conducts research
- 1. identify a problem or question
- a problem provides reason for inquiry
- should be in the form of a question
- for example;
  - how does social media affect culture?
  - does coffee make you smarter?
- 2. develop a hypothesis
- a possible answer to the problem
- a testable prediction
- should indicate what needs to be tested
- serves to focus your research
- a crucial step
- a starting point for any investigation
- 3. gathering data
- determine what data needs to be collected
- how will you gather the data?
- choose an appropriate method of research
  - case studies
  - experiments
  - sample surveys
  - interviews
- what research model will be the most effective?
- 4. analyze data
- organize, interpret, analyze
- make the data meaningful
- use statistical analysis, graphs, charts, averages
- identify trends & patterns
- data can consist of;
  - quantitative data
  - numbers & statistics
  - qualitative data
  - notes from observations
  - transcripts from interviews
- data must be changed into a format that helps;
  - test the hypothesis
  - answer the question being asked
  - to be turned into evidence
- 5. draw conclusions
- answer to the question being asked
- determine if your hypothesis is supported, rejected or needs to be revised
- divided into four categories
  - the evidence supports the hypothesis
  - there is some evidence to support the hypothesis
  - the evidence does not support the hypothesis
  - the evidence supports an alternative hypothesis
- never venture beyond what the evidence supports
steps to analyze data;
- data should be separated into two categories
- relevant evidence
- Irrelevant evidence
- only keep data that supports or negates the hypothesis
- convert numbers into percentages
- put the data into a chart or graph
- does it reveal any trends?
- data should be analyzed in terms of;
- how it supports the hypothesis
- how is fails to support the hypothesis
three checks of social scientific studies;
- objectivity
- findings must not be coloured by the personal opinions of the researcher
- relevance
- findings must relate directly to the problem
- validity
- all results must be accurate & reliable
research method;
- variety of methods for collecting data
- method chosen is determined by a question, problem & area of study
- case study;
- observation of an individual, situation, or group over a period of time
- studies one situation in depth
- great deal of information can be learned
- many hypotheses about similar situations can be developed
- experiment;
- helps determine how one factor is related to another
- causation or correlation?
- what happens if one factor is changed?
- a control group is monitored
- they are a standard for comparison against the experimental group
- most often used in psychology
- ethical questions must be considered
- interviews;
- used to get detailed information from a few people
- often recorded for accuracy
- questions prepared in advance
  - can be expanded on during the interview
  - depends on the discussion that follows
- sample surveys;
- used to obtain information about thoughts & behavior of a large group of people
- a limited number of people selected to represent a larger group
- controlled for age, gender, ethnicity, occupation, etc.
- conclusions are drawn about that larger group
- length of the survey: 10-15 mins
- typical tool is a questionnaire
  - series of formulated questions
  - collects information for research
  - often multiple choice
- major drawback
  - respondents cannot explain their opinions
  - simply answers questions
- observation;
- used to learn how people respond in realistic situations
- unstructured observation
  - studying people without a predetermined idea of what to look for
  - allows fresh insight & new ideas
- structured observation
  - planning beforehand what will be observed
  - keeping a list of things to look for
- participant observation
  - used mainly by anthropologists
  - participates in the group’s activities
a closer look into bias;
- what is a bias?
- a personal opinion, formed in advance
- is about an event,person or thing
- a reason why people interpret the same facts differently
- causes people to select different facts & to ignore others
- makes finding the truth about any person or human activity very difficult
- what is frame of reference?
- shapes a person’s biases
- includes all the personal experiences gained through;
  - culture & family
  - religion & friends
- for example, you maybe be biased in favor of you're new science class this year because you always found science an interesting subject
- your friend may have bias against the same class because she has almost failed science every year
- both BIAS & FRAME OF REFERENCE can have a significant impact on the work that social scientists do
- it may INFLUENCE THE CONCLUSIONS being made during investigation of different social science problems & research
social science; research methods & ethics
- ANTHROPOLOGICAL RESEARCH
- participant observation
  - participates in group activities
  - pro: subjects are more natural
  - con: observers perception affects study
- interview
  - dialogue between interviewer & subject
  - pro: subject can explain their answer
  - con: face to face interactions can lead to false data
- PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH
- experiment
  - testing the relationship between two factors
  - pro: can determine cause & effect
  - con: question of ethics; following the principles of profession
- sample survey
  - questions given to a representative population
  - pro: large population researched so the info is applied to a larger group
  - con: thoughts of those surveyed cannot be explained
- structured observation
  - planning what will be observed
  - pro: subjects are more natural
  - con: observer’s perception affects study
- case study
  - observation of an individual, situation, or group overtime
  - pro: detailed, overtime
  - con: small population
- SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
- focus group
  - a small group (6-12 people)
  - reflects a specific group/demographic
  - pro: provides open feedback & topics/discussions are free flowing
  - con: people within the group can influence others responses