GROUP 2

DOING RESEARCH IN SOCIAL SCIENCE

KRISELLE ANN CALSO

GABRIELLE PARVATII LOW
ROSEMARIE DERIAL
SHERA MAE RELON
MARK JASON ORTIZ
WE WILL BE DISCUSSING:

What is social science?

The importance of social science

The political and ethical issues in social science

 Social science

The study of society and the manner in which

people behave and influence the world around us
THE IMPORTANCE OF
SOCIAL SCIENCE
Sociology helps us look more objectively at our society and other
societies. It directs attention to how the parts of society fit
together and change, and the consequences of that social
change. We are faced with an ever increasingly complex and
rapidly changing social milieu in modern industrial-bureaucratic
societies. A study of Sociology provides the conceptual tools and
methods for understanding the social milieu--whether it is
expressed in:
group attitudes
values
behaviors
political processes of workers
families
organizations
consumers
governments
By focusing on the external forces that affect values, attitudes and
behaviors, it helps us better understand ourselves and the motivations of
others around us. While we are all creatures of the various groups,
organizations and governments in our environments, we are also their
creators. Sociology provides the tools and skills we need to take a more
active role in creating, participating in, advancing and managing such
groups.
WHY DO WE NEED TO STUDY
SOCIAL SCIENCE?
Social scientists help us imagine
alternative futures.
Social science can open up debate and give us a say in
shaping our collective future. Social science helped people
understand the consequences and application of the new
technologies of the age, such as steam power.
They present us with a bewildering range of ethical, legal
and social issues. But it isn’t enough to rely on the
scientists. We also need social scientists to analyze and
critique what’s going on. That way we will make informed
choices that shape the future.
The growth of railways and factories not only transformed the
economy and the world of work, but also changed forever the
way people organized their family lives and leisure. Today
nanotechnology and advances in medical research will have a
significant impact on the way we live.
Social science can help us make
sense of our finances.
Social science is not just important for the future but for what’s
happening now. A range of social scientists – not just economists but
also psychologists, sociologists and political scientists, for example ‐
can help us understand the economic crisis and weigh up decisions we
make for ourselves and those which governments make on our behalf.
Without this kind of analysis we may feel like pawns in a global game
of chess.
Social scientists contribute to our health
and well‐being.
From sports sociologists to public health experts, from those
interpreting medical statistics to those evaluating policies for our
care in old age, social scientists are working hard to make sure
that our health, leisure and social care services work to best
effect.
We need social scientists as public
intellectuals.
In our fast changing world, there is a place for the social
scientist as public intellectual. This doesn’t have to be a
succession of boring grey talking heads. Social scientists will
have to become active listeners, talking more often to the
public, each other and to scientists.
Social science can change
the world for the better.
Then we can get all the disciplines around the table together. In
a knowledge‐based world, we need people who can integrate a
variety of different types of knowledge, and that come from
different intellectual roots and from a range of institutions to
work together.
We can generally agree that world needs to be a safer place where all
people can enjoy basic dignity and human rights. This is the case even when
we can’t always agree on what we should do to make this happen. Social
scientists working in interdisciplinary teams have made their mark in the
area of human welfare and development.

They are concerned with the social and economic advancement of humanity
at large. They work with government institutions, UN organizations, social
services, funding agencies, and with the media.
 Political and ethical
issues in social science
Many social scientists believe that the
personal and political values of the social
scientist as well a the community to which
they belong to have a great impact on the
formulation, analysis, and interpretation of
research.

However, this acknowledgement of the role of

values and political biases of the researcher
in doing research does not make social
research purely subjective.
Social scientists study the social world using the scientific method, which has
its own rules and logic that distinguish it from common sense. Today, the
social sciences employ a variety of methods to study the social world, from
surveys to narrative analysis, from interview to life stories. With the advent of
the globalization, social scientists have become aware of the geographical
limitations of their perspectives. Traditional social scientist thought that the
theories and measurements they created applied universally to all people
and cultures around the world. Hence, the social sciences today are moving
towards decolonization. And this supports pluralism of methods and
paradigms or theories in social sciences.
REFERENCES
BRENNER,So why is research important to social work?,2016
https://u.osu.edu/brenner81hseportfolio/2016/10/06/so-why-is-research-important-
to-social-work

WHY STUDY SOCIOLOGY

http://ww.tnstate.edu/sociology/why.aspx

Nancy Cartwright & Julian Reiss,Social Science Needs to Benefit Society, and
Now,2015