Social science is the study of society and its branches are anthropology, philosophy and more.

1. INTRODUCTION TO THE
SOCIAL SCIENCES
Social 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 society
E.g. “Bleaching and Lightning of Skin”

2. Types of Social Sciences
• Anthropology
•Psychology
•Sociology
•Geography
•Political Science
•Economics
•Family Studies

3. 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.

4. 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

5. THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
PSYCHOLOGY
 Studies the
thought processes
and behavior of
the individual.
 An example of a
psychology question is:
Does violent media
cause people to
become violent?

6. 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?

7. 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).

8. 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.

9. ETHICAL PROBLEMS IN RESEARCH
 A few examples of research that may
involve ethical problems:
– Market research used to encourage consumers to buy
inappropriate products
– Jury research used to disallow jurors likely to have
certain values or beliefs
– Polling research used to create candidate platforms
and marketing approaches
– 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)

10. SOCIAL SCIENCE PROFESSIONS
 Professions for the social sciences:
 Business
 Education
 Journalism
 Law
 Public health
 Social work
 Government work
 International organizations
 Policing
 Fire and Rescue