INTRODUCTION TO THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

Social Sciences-The social sciences describe disciplines that explore human behaviour and use the scientific method where information is collected and analyzed. -These disciplines involve research and data collection and of course analysis. Social scientists apply their research to help solve problems that may occur in current societyE.g. “Bleaching and Lightning of Skin”

Types of Social Sciences

• Anthropology

• Psychology

• Sociology

• Geography

• Political Science

• Economics

• Family Studies

THE SOCIAL SCIENCESANTHROPOLOGY Studies the behaviour of

human culture from the past and present

The study of the unity and diversity of human culture and society from a comparative and global perspective.

THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

Example of an anthropological question is:

Why is death celebrated in some cultures? Eg. Days of the Dead in Mexico or Nine

Nights in Jamaica

THE SOCIAL SCIENCESPSYCHOLOGY Studies the

thought processes and behavior of the individual.

An example of a psychology question is:

Does violent media cause people to become violent?

THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

SOCIOLOGY Studies human social life and groups

in society; how people act in group situations

An example of a sociological question is:Why is crime increasing amongst lower-class income groups?

ETHICAL PROBLEMS IN RESEARCH

As you might imagine in a research field involving human subjects, there are a variety of ethical problems for social science researchers.

Government regulations insure that most research is done according to strict guidelines with the fully informed consent of the subjects. – Not always been the case (e.g Milgram

experiment with electric shocks).

ETHICAL PROBLEMS IN RESEARCH

There is still some popular fear of social science research involving psychology. – data gathered by researchers will be

used to invade privacy or to support inappropriate ends.

ETHICAL PROBLEMS IN RESEARCH

A few examples of research that may involve ethical problems:– Market research used to encourage consumers

to buy inappropriate products – Jury research used to disallow jurors likely to

have certain values or beliefs– Polling research used to create candidate

platforms and marketing approaches – Research conducted by "house" researchers to

demonstrate that something is not really a problem (wide-spread gun availability is not really a problem or legalizing gambling is a social good)

SOCIAL SCIENCE PROFESSIONS

Professions for the social sciences: Business Education Journalism Law Public health Social work Government work International organizations Policing Fire and Rescue