THE SOCIAL SCIENCE

HSB4U Maharaj

INTRODUCTION TO THE SOCIAL SCIENCESSocial 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 SCIENCES

ANTHROPOLOGY 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). We encounter this experiment in depth later on

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.

Conspiracy Theory? In this world of surveillance and heightened

terror threats, people are less willing to participate or think that the work being done is for RESEARCH purposes only (Marketing firms etc)

ETHICAL PROBLEMS IN RESEARCH

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

buy products that may be bad for them *diet pills, sleep aids etc

Jury research used to disallow jurors likely to have certain values or beliefs--- E.g. race, religion issues in cases

Polling research used to create candidate platforms for elections

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

Why should you care?

Social Science thinkers are among the most coveted graduates in university due to their ability to think from differing perspectives, troubleshoot and understand varying perspectives

With a degree in social sciences you can get into Law Criminology Forensics Research + Marketing Teaching Policing Customs and Border Control ETC