Sociology

Social science is one of the three divisions of science. These divisions are natural science, social science and formal science. Social science is mainly concerned with the human society part of the world. Therefore, social science is a branch of academia that studies different aspects of humanity in the world. It is a broad field of study that aims at studying the human behavior and their impacts on their surrounding and the world at large. Some scholars have argued on the definition of social science where some say social science is too broad to have one definition. Due to this controversy, social science can be defined based on the subjects encompassed in the study. However, each of these subjects employs different approaches and study methods to understand the society. Different branches of social science employ different data collection methods and use a wide range of statistical methods to analyze the data. Social science is based on experiments and observations methods and emulates the basic principles of science. However, social scientists more or less use critical analysis and interpretation methods to carry out their studies which are not consistent with the conventional scientific study methods. The methods used in the study of social sciences are more qualitative than they are quantitative and many conclusions are reached as a result of personal interpretations. They are therefore referred to as soft science in contrast with the other two divisions of science which are considered hard sciences. Social sciences include history, anthropology, law, economics, psychology, communication studies and political science among others. The term social science therefore is an umbrella term for all studies that are not included in natural sciences.

The importance of social science dates back to ancient societies. It existed in the ancient Greek societies during the times of Plato and Aristotle who made great contribution in understanding various aspects of humanity in the world. To the ancient scholars, there was no distinct difference between social science and other divisions of science as it is the case today. The study of mathematics and history, politics and literature was not different in any way. During the middle ages, the Muslim sociologists made numerous contributions in the study of social science. The advent of the modern social science was greatly predisposed by positivism. The 20th century came with the emergence of numerous social science fields where it has become more and more quantitative. The interdisciplinary studies especially in environmental science have made it necessary to apply some aspects of social science in the study of natural science due to the big influence of human activities in the world. Other emerging disciplines such as bioeconomics, sociobiology and some medical sub discipline have created the need for interdisciplinary studies. The application of statistics in all fields of scientific studies whether social sciences or natural science has left this field of applied mathematics as an unattached discipline (Rosenberg, 1995).

Social scientists have made several contributions in the society even with the society not recognizing their role. The modern form of government has played a major role in ensuring good interrelationship between people from different parts of a competitive world. These roles can be attributed to the work of great scholars of the 20th century such as Keynes and Popper. The health services enjoyed by people over the world were first dreamt of by a social scientist who was an economist. The insight provided by social scientists research has been invaluable to individuals of all works of life.  

Scholars such as Watson and Pavlov are considered to be the fathers of the 20th century social science. They were the first scholars to approach social science using techniques which were previously used in natural sciences only. They introduced the use of controlled experimentation and different observation techniques which was followed by careful recording of their findings. Scientific research technique have since then been applied in social science where aspects of humanity which have no measurable quantities and are not considered scientific such as behaviorism  have been studied. However, if a hypothesis has to be proved scientifically, it must be supported by replicating and quantifiable facts. The work of Pavlov which demonstrated the conditioning of a dog such that it salivate in response to a stimuli which was a bell proved that social science and natural science are related and equally important in addressing modern day challenges.

Social science is relevant and useful in everyones life today and the years to come. It enables us to understand the world around us. It is indisputable that we all need to know where we have come from and how we became what we are today. It is not enough to know that the African American fought against racial discrimination such as segregation in the mid 20th century. It is more important to know what they were fighting for and why that having the historical timeline. We need to analyze the steps taken by our forefathers and understand their thoughts and aspirations when they founded our nation. By understanding the historic perspectives of our nation, we would be able to achieve the goals of our fathers by being influenced by their thoughts and learning from their mistakes. It is also important for the society to be fully aware of the mistakes it has gone through to avoid making the same mistakes in the future. Avoiding the same mistakes in the future involves studying the circumstances under which the mistakes were done and analyzing the possible choices. By understanding how past leaders handled different aspects of the society during their time such as misunderstandings between states or laws that were opposed by the general public is very useful to current leaders in the decision they make about similar issues. Social sciences most importantly make our past part of our present and future. Therefore a world without social science is unimaginable (Byrne, 1998).

The main job of a social scientist is to study the society. The study does not involve the past only but also the relationship of individuals with the society. Social science also involves the study of behaviors within a society and the relationships between different societies. To increase the knowledge on behavior patterns within a society, social scientists look at how an individual or part of the society makes decisions. Social scientists therefore gather data related to the behavior of people and draw conclusion from the analysis of the data collected. The data enables them to understand how individuals develop socially, economically, physically and culturally. Social science also analyses how human beings interact with their environment.

An example of a social scientist is a historian. The work of a historian is to study the past human activities, analyzing them and then drawing conclusions from the information gathered. Historians use a very wide variety of materials which includes primary sources such as government records, photographs, manuscripts and secondary sources to gather information. They may also use diaries recorded by individuals to unearth a historical event. Other social scientists such as anthropologists study the origin of human race and how human beings develop. They study the development of people from different parts of the globe by looking at their social organization, traditions and beliefs as well as their physical characteristics. They also study the social patterns in different communities in the world and their language differences. Anthropologists have contributed greatly in understanding of wars and population growth in different communities. Archeologists on the other hand are social scientists who study the past civilization. They look at the behaviors of the early man, the work he did and his general social life. Their study mainly involves the study of items used by the early man as well as excavated fossils. Other social scientist such as geographers studies the features of the earth surface or a part of it (Ragan, 2007).

In conclusion, social science is a discipline that is associated with the study of human aspects in the world. It is concerned with the human societies and their interaction with the world that surround them. Social science has existed for many centuries among the scholars. It is useful in our daily life since it enables us make a sense of the world around us. The importance of social science has been however as a result of interdisciplinary nature of the modern science.