DISCUSSION

Scope of Social Science

David L. Sills, editor of International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences,

concedes that “the Social Sciences differ in their scope from one generation to
another”. Therefore, it seems that the areas of study coming under social sciences are
very flexible. It may also be concluded that social sciences have no mono-disciplinary
character but a combination of many disciplines having social implications.
“Social science is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a
plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences. “(Verheggen et al 1999) (20).
“Subjects such as international relations and social work are concerned primarily with
application and do not constitute social sciences per se. The term may be used,
however, in the specific context of referring to the original science of society
established in 19th century sociology. Émile Durkheim, Karl Marx and Max Weber
are typically cited as the principal architects of modern social science by this
definition. (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/weber/max weber-
stanford encyclopedia of philosophy)
https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/40587/8/10_chapter1.pdf

Here are the 5 Developments

of Social Science

Five developments either stemming from Comte or

encouraged by different traditions have helped the confuse
methodological picture of the social sciences

1. Many of those who took the analogy to the natural science seriously engaged in social
research. The great factual surveys of Charles Booth in Britain, and of Chicago school in the
USA, bear witness to this trend. Frederic Le Play had started a similar tradition in France. In
Germany, the “verein fiir socialpolitik” adopted the same research techniques. Such often
large scale descriptive enterprises are the precursors of modern social research and analysis.

2. Science, of course, is more than fact finding. Thus, a natural science notion of theoretical
social science has informed at least two of the heroes of sociology; Emile Durkheim in
particular was impressed by the need to study social facts, whereas Pareto stimulated both
mathematical insights and specific theories.
3. By the turn of the century, a methodological dichotomy was born which gave rise to
another aspect, or, notion, of social science. Against the ambitions of those who tried to
emulate the natural sciences in the study of social phenomena, the German school of thought
gained around, according to which social phenomena do not lend themselves to such rigid
analysis, but require a different approach, one of “verstehen”, of empathy and understanding.
Max Weber (1921) straddles different approaches, but introduced into social science what
were later called “hermeneutic” or “phenomenological” perspectives.

4. It will readily be seen that all three approaches mentioned so far are most closely
associated with the subject of sociology and its history. Indeed, economics soon began to go its
own way. Ever since the decline of the German historical school of economists, it developed
as the discipline which of all the social sciences most nearly deserves the name of science.
Economic knowledge is to a considerable extent cumulative; theories are developed and
tested, if not always against reality, then at least against models and their assumptions.

5. Finally Max Weber also insisted on another distinction which defines the fifth aspect of
social science that between knowledge, however gained, and values. The distinction was
explosive at the time, and continues to be that, although political theory, moral philosophy,
and jurisprudence have gone their own ways and the study of the social policy has shifted
from the prescriptive to the analytical.

BRIEF DISCUSSION OF VARIOUS DISCIPLINES OF SOCIAL

SCIENCE
A. Economics. It is the social science that deals with the ways in which men and societies
seek to satisfy their material needs and desires. Alfred Marshall has defined economics as
“The Study of mankind in the ordinary business of life”. Adam Smith defines it as the science
of wealth. The main area is money, banking and business, public finance, international
economics, labor and industrial relations, land and agricultural economics, business
organization, public utilities and transportation. Economics is becoming increasingly
professional and specialized. Economics is a Social Science that seeks to analyze and
describe the production distribution and consumption of wealth.(WWW.Britanica.Com)(9)

B. History. “History is the study of the human past, scholars who write about history are
called historians. It is a field of research which uses a narrative to examine and analyze the
sequence of events and it sometimes attempts to investigate objectively the patterns of cause
and effect that determine events. Historians debate the nature of history and its usefulness
(Evans, Richard J.2001). Events of the past prior to written record are considered preferable
prehistoric.

C. Political Science. Political Science is a social science concerned with the theory and
practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political
behavior. Political scientists “See themselves engaged in revealing the relationships
underlying political events and conditions. And from these revelations they attempt to
construct general principles about the way the world of politics works” (Lane 1996). Political
science intersects with other fields: including public policy, national polities, international
relations, comparative politics and political theory.
D. Statistics. Statistics as a discipline is the development and application of methods, to
collect, analyze and interpret data. A modern statistical method involves the design and
analysis of experiments and surveys the quantification of biological, social and scientific
phenomenon and the application of statistical principles to understand more about the world
around us. Since data are used in more areas of human endeavor, the theory and methods of
modern statistics have been applied to a wide variety of fields. Some areas that use modern
statistical methods are the medical, biological and social science, economics and finance,
marketing research, manufacturing and management, government, research institute and
many more.

E. Political Science. It is a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope", of which the

"fundamental goal...is to advance management and policies so that government can function
(Rabin, Jack1989). Some of the various definitions which have been offered for the term are:
"the management of public programs" (Robert, B. 2009); the translation of politics into the
reality that citizens see every day; and "the study of government decision making, the
analysis of the policies themselves, the various inputs that have produced them, and the
inputs necessary to produce alternative policies (Jerome, B. 1998)." One of the main branches
of political science, public administration can be broadly described as the development,
implementation and study of branches of government policy. The pursuit of the public good
by enhancing civil society and social justice is the ultimate goal of the field. Though public
administration has historically been referred to as government management, it increasingly
encompasses non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that also operate with a similar,
primary dedication to the betterment of humanity.

F. Sociology. Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science, a term with which it is
sometimes synonymous- that uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical
analysis to develop and refine a body of knowledge about human social activity. After with
the goal of applying such knowledge to the pursuit of social welfare. Subject matter ranges
from the micro level of agency and interaction to the macro level of systems and social
structure (Giddens 2007).

G. Anthropology. Anthropology is the holistic "science of man". The discipline deals with
the integration of different aspects of the Social Sciences, Humanities, and Human Biology.
The humanities generally study local traditions, through their history, literature, music, and
art, with an emphasis on understanding particular individuals, events, or eras. The social
sciences have generally attempted to develop scientific methods to understand social
phenomena in a generalizable way, though usually with methods distinct from those of the
natural sciences.

H. Education. Education encompasses teaching and learning specific skills, the imparting
of knowledge, positive judgment and well-developed wisdom. Education has as one of its
fundamental aspects the imparting of culture from generation to generation. Educate means
'to draw out', from the, or to facilitate the realization of an individual's potential and talents. It
is an application of pedagogy, a body of theoretical and applied research relating to teaching
and learning and draws on many disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, computer
science, linguistics, neuroscience, sociology and anthropology.
(http ://www.teachersmind.com/ education).
H. Law. Law is a system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions. Laws can
shape or reflect politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a primary
social mediator of relations between people (Hamilton 2005).

J. Behavioural Sciences. Behavioural science is a branch of the sciences which is

concerned with the study of human and animal behaviour. Behavioural science looks at
individuals and their behaviour along with the behaviour of societies, groups, and cultures,
and processes which can contribute to specific behaviour. Research in this field can include
many social sciences in their approach, along with harder sciences like neurology, chemistry,
and even things like geology, as people may be interested in how environment informs
behavior.(www.wisegeek.com/what is behavioural science.html).

K. Geography. Geography is the study of the Earth and its lands, features, inhabitants, and
phenomena. A literal translation would be to describe or write about the Earth. The first
person to use the word geography was Eratosthenes (276-194 B.C.). Four historical traditions
in geographical research are the spatial analysis of natural and human phenomena (geography
as a study of distribution), area studies (places and regions), study of man-land relationship,
and research in earth sciences (Pattison1990). Nonetheless, modern geography is an all
encompassing discipline that foremost seeks to understand the Earth and all of its human and
natural complexities—not merely where objects are, but how they have changed and come to
be. Geography has been called 'the world discipline' (Bonnet 2008).

L. Psychology. Psychology is the study of human or animal mental functions and

behavior. In this field, a professional practitioner or researcher is a psychologist.
Psychologists are classified as social or behavioral scientists. Psychologists attempt to
understand the role of mental functions in individual and social behavior, while also
exploring underlying physiological and neurological processes.

M. Management. Management in all business areas and organizational activities are the
acts of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives. Management
comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization
(a group of one or more people or entities) or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal.
Resourcing encompasses the deployment and manipulation of human resources, financial
resources, technological resources, and natural resources.

N. Business Studies. Business studies is the name of an academic subject taught at higher
level in many countries. Its study combines accountancy, economics, finance, marketing and
organizational behavior.

O. Human Resources. Human resources are a term used to describe the individuals who
comprise the workforce of an organization, although it is also applied in labor economics, for
example, business sectors or even whole nations. Human resources is also the name of the
function within an organization charged with the overall responsibility for implementing
strategies and policies relating to the management of individuals (i.e. the human resources).
This function title is often abbreviated to the initials 'HR'. Human resources are a relatively
modern management term, coined in the 1960s.