Have you ever wondered about social sciences? You have science lessons in school. But what about social science? You may come across this subject when you visit the university websites. As a social science student this semester, I would like to share some facts about social science with you. Are you suitable for studying social science in the future? Read this article to find out more.

 

1. What is social science? Is it related to something that we have learned in the science lesson?

Social science is the field of human knowledge that deals with all aspects of the group life of human beings. Social scientists believe that understanding society is learning the conditions that limit our lives and the opportunities open to us for improving the human condition. They think that much of the laws and understanding of international relations and government facilitate our knowledge of current world events. It relates to science to a certain extent. Have you remembered that you learned scientific investigations in form one? The rationale of the social science experiments is almost the same as scientific investigations. Both emphasize the use of scientific approaches and research methods to study and understand social issues and problems, making social science knowledge more generalizable and objective.

 

2. Why do people study social sciences?

Social science helps people better understand themselves and the social world objectively and comprehensively. It facilitates them to look beyond their personal experiences and gain insights about society and the social world in an integrative and systematic view. Also, it enables them to develop a greater awareness of the connection between their personal opinions and others’ opinions of the world.

 

3. What are the major disciplines of social sciences?

Doubtless, to say, social sciences are a vast subject. It mainly involves four subjects: Sociology, Social Work, Criminology, and Psychology. Sociology is the scientific study of social behavior, its origins, development, organizations, and institutions. Social work is a professional and academic discipline. The aim is to improve the quality of life of individuals, groups, and communities. Criminology is the scientific study of nature extent, management control, consequences, and prevention of criminal behaviors on individual and social levels. Psychology is the study of mental functions and behaviors.

 

4. Is there any limitation of social sciences?

Yes. Sometimes, it is hard for us to conduct a social science experiment. Unlike the experiments in which the independent variables are measurable in your science lessons, something in social sciences is unmeasurable. Satisfaction and democracy are examples. It is difficult and impossible to find and evaluate all the causes of a given situation in this complex society. There is the human element in every social condition, except in routine cases, we can seldom predict individual behavior with complete certainty. If the social scientists succeed in finding uniformities or “laws” of social behavior and setting up hypotheses to explain them, investigators seldom employ controlled experiments to test their ideas. Social scientists must substitute careful observation and the mental process of abstraction for investigations.

 

5. Who is suitable for studying Social Sciences?

If you want to study Social Sciences at the university, you have to be observant because you must design a thorough experiment. Apart from that, you have to be curious about everything to be more motivated to conduct the experiments and write a report. More importantly, you have to be perseverant because the experiments may be unsuccessful. Then, you have to try again!

 

To sum up, studying social sciences is fun because we can explore a society in detail. Are you interested in Social Sciences? If you are interested, you may read books about Social Sciences to gain detailed knowledge! If you want to further your study, you may choose Social Sciences at the university!

 

Reference:

Hunt, E. F., & Colander, D. C. (2011). Social science: an introduction to the study of society
(14th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education/Allyn & Bacon. Chapter 1: Social
Science and Its Methods, pp.1-24
Seligman, M. E., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014). Positive psychology: An introduction. In
Flow and the foundations of positive psychology (pp. 279-298). Springer, Dordrecht.
Seligman, M. E., Steen, T. A., Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive psychology
progress: empirical validation of interventions. American psychologist, 60(5), 410.
Park, N., Peterson, C., & Seligman, M.E.P. (2004). Strengths of character and well-being,
Journal Social and Clinical Psychology, 23 (5), 603-619