OVERVIEW OF

SOCIAL SCIENCES
Prepared by: Daffodel M. Dadulla
What is
Social
Science?
DEFINITIONS
According to Seligman-“social sciences as those mental or cultural sciences which deal
with the activities of the individual as member of the group.

According to Mitchell “the term social science is loosely applied to any kind of study
concerning man and society.

According to Fairchild,” social science as a general term for all the sciences which are
concerned with the human affairs.”

According to Peter Lewis,” social sciences are concerned with the laws that govern
society and the social department of man.”
DEFINITIONS
deals with the activities of
individual as member of the group is an academic discipline
concerned with society and the
relationships among individuals
is a group of academic
within a society, which often rely
disciplines dedicated to primarily on empirical approaches.
examining society. This branch
of science studies how people is the study of the activities of the
interact with each other, behave, physical and social environment.
develop as a culture, and
influence the world.
Nature of Scientific Knowledge

◦ Systematically:
- gathered
- classified
- related
- interpreted
◦ Learning and applying concepts
DISTINCT CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

1. Change in human relationship and reinterpretation between

the present and the past event
2. Human activities and spatial distributions and interaction of
Man as an individual being culture , biologic and physical elements
3. Basic social systems ,institutions and processes
4. Relationship between individual and institutions and among
Man as a social being political economic and social institutions
5. The nature of societies and authors and the interactions of
people with each other and also their social and physical
environment.
DISCIPLINES OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
According to Fairchild:
According to Seligman:
Economics, Government, Law, Psychology,
Purely social sciences – political science, Sociology , Anthropology
history, economics, anthropology,
sociology, penology and jurisprudence.
According to H.E. Burns:
Semi social sciences – ethics and
education History, Human, Geography, Biology, Social
Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology, Sociology
Sciences with social implications – Economics, Political Science, Jurisprudence, Ethics
biology, medicine, geography, linguistics
and art
DISCIPLINES OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
According to E.C. Hagues: According to Wilson Gee:
Sociology, Anthropology, Social Sociology, Economics, Anthropology, Statistics,
pathology, Cultural geography, Psychology, Jurisprudence, History, Philosophy,
Economics, Political science, History Political Science

According to S R Rangnathan:
According to W.F.Ogburn and Education, Geography, History, Political Science,
A.Goldenweiser: Economics, Sociology, Law
Anthropology, Economics, History,
Political science, Sociology
Disciplines
of Social
Science
◦ is the study of the relationship between biological traits
and socially acquired characteristics. Sometimes called the
study of humans, it consists of two broad fields:
1. Physical anthropology
2. Cultural anthropology
◦ is the systematic study of relationships among people.
Sociologists assume that behavior is influenced by people’s
social, political, occupational, and intellectual groupings and
by the particular settings in which they find themselves at one
time or another.
◦ is the study of the natural environment and how it influences
social and cultural development
◦ is the study of the ways in which men and women make a
living, the most pressing most human beings face.
◦ is the study of social arrangements to maintain peace and
order within the society.
◦ deals with the mind and paersonality of the individual
◦ is the study of the past events.
THE HISTORY OF SCIENTIFIC
KNOWLEDGE
METHODS OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

◦ Utilize scientific method

◦ More complex than physical sciences
◦ Controlled experiments difficult
◦ Instead, social scientists:
- use careful observation
- use abstractions
- calculate effects
Applying Scientific Method to Social Science

1) Observe 6) Choose research design

2) Define the problem 7) Collect necessary data
3) Review the literature 8) Analyze results
4) Observe some more 9) Draw conclusion
5) Develop theoretical
framework, formulate
hypothesis
Alternative Methods

1) Historical – tracing and analyzing historical events

2) Case
- detailed examination/analysis of single issue
- can be limiting
3) Comparative/Cross Cultural
- detailed studies of cultural patterns
- sometimes difficult to define terms
HISTORY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE
FIVE DEVELOPMENTS OF SOCIAL SCIENCE
◦ is the study of the relationship between
biological traits and socially acquired
characteristics. Sometimes called the study of
humans, it consists of two broad fields:
1. Physical anthropology
2. Cultural anthropology
◦ is the systematic study of relationships among
people. Sociologists assume that behavior is
influenced by people’s social, political,
occupational, and intellectual groupings and
by the particular settings in which they find
themselves at one time or another.
◦ is the study of the natural environment and ◦ is the study of the past events.
how it influences social and cultural
development

◦ is the study of the ways in which men and ◦ is the study of social arrangements to
women make a living, the most pressing maintain peace and order within the
most human beings face. society.

◦ deals with the mind and personality of the individual

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