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