The Field of Social Science - Case Study Example

Topic: Human Relations in Social Sciences Introduction Human relations - is a multi-disciplinary field, which draws on various academic disciplines among which are the social sciences. The aim of the paper is to explore the field of social science as an introduction to the study of human relations based on the information presented by Perry and Perry (2012) in the book Contemporary society: an introduction to social science. Perry and Perry (2012) explain the fundamental differences between the natural and social sciences, identify the various social disciplines and explain how social science informs directly relate to human relations. Key dissimilarities between social sciences and natural sciences The key purpose of the social sciences is to identify the methodical attributes of the human condition as well as that of human behaviour using a system that is associated with the physical sciences when it is possible. The persistence on a methodical study the main distinction between the social sciences from philosophy, art as well as literature that also reflects the features of the human condition. Essentially, artists along with philosophers have depicted perceptions into the nature of human conduct and the attributes associated with societies for a long time while availing themselves of such elements as intuition, tradition and imagination which are available to everyone and used every day (Perry & Perry, 2012, p. 2). Unfortunately, the tools have a significant inadequacy as they do not maintain accuracy and are not always exhaustive as they are affected by the prejudices of an individual or a society. Science can be defined as a method that utilizes a system of rational inquiries that are reliant on the practical testing of facts. It is a procedure, and not a specific body of content that provides the scientists with an exceptional way of viewing things. Scientific methods make it possible to attain evidence that can be verified and replicated and not to make assumptions concerning the obvious facts until when hypotheses are completely supported by proof. Social sciences developed when a number of social philosophers who had resolved to use scientific methods in the study of particular features of human conduct in the society. In the beginning, there was very little difference between social philosophy and general philosophy, but several ideas developed in the nineteenth century contributed to the separation of social philosophy into several separate areas of study. This period in history entailed an increased belief in the power of reason and researchers were convinced that in the same way that the universal laws of nature had been discovered through scientific approaches, the same kind of laws would be developed if human conduct could be evaluated in the same manner (Perry & Perry, 2012, p. 4). The expansion of scientific knowledge has been so fast to the point that presently, everyone has an idea of how things work more than a physician in the nineteenth century could. This expansion of awareness can be credited to the methodical methods. Additionally, the interpretation of human conduct along with human affairs can only be done through biology and the rest of the natural sciences. If the social scientists continue to ignore the natural sciences, the will continually limit their efforts at increasing their knowledge in their particular areas of study. The main reason the natural sciences have been successful is consilience that involves the connection of knowledge for various areas of study to come up with a comprehensible explanation. For instance, the contemporary medicine id dependent on knowledge that was collected from molecular and cell biology, which are also founded on genetics that obey the laws of physics. In contrast, the social sciences seem to function as if they are in an isolated universe making it important to accept that human life is a physical phenomenon which is created and maintained by the same principles as other living things. Studies have demonstrated that people have an innate capability to acquire language, identify faces and decipher the meanings of facial expressions since most of these capabilities are located in a particular area of the brain that neuroscientists are attempting to trace. They are also making some headway in understanding what dreams are, and they have identified that specific areas of the brain are responsible for dreams (Perry & Perry, 2012, p. 6). With a blend of natural science and social sciences, the professional in this fields may be able to understand the reasons why people fight and their inclination towards certain religions. Social science disciplines The boundaries that exist in the social sciences are artificial since they focus on studying the behaviour of human beings in a social environment. However, each of the disciplines focusses on particular aspects of the world as well as behaviour, therefore, allowing the scientists an opportunity to concentrate on one particular one. Social scientists have knowledge of the intertwining nature of the disciplines they deal with, and thus they regularly borrow from each other making the dissimilarity simply an issue of emphasis. Anthropology blends a natural science with information that was collected from the social sciences to identify the connections that exist between biological characters and the attributes which are acquired in a social setting. This discipline is split into physical anthropology that focuses on human biological origins as well as the differences in the human species, and cultural anthropology which deals with the study and assessment of preliterate societies (Perry & Perry, 2012, p. 11). On the other hand, economy is a human institution which is a deep-seated habit that has allowed people to try and assist their survival in the periods when there is a scarcity of resources. Economics studies the various systems that societies develop to assist them in this undertaking (Perry & Perry, 2012, p. 13). Economists try to appreciate the actions people take part in the production, distribution and usage of products and services that are needed to sustain life. The make an assessment of the value of work, natural resources as well as money as a means of exchange through creating definitions of the concepts of supply and demand. The discipline tries to get explanations to several social processes, where they originate from, how work is important as a source of identity along with the effects of increasing expectations among others. Geography is essentially a natural science that deals with the planet we live in and the water, land, vegetation and animals that live in it. These are all in the physical geography, and it mainly focusses on knowledge that emanates from astronomy, botany, oceanology among others. Geography pays attention to the manner in which people use their natural setting, why they inhabit particular areas and the specific types of lands that are good for farming and agriculture. Psychology deals with the forces that determine and motivate people in the development of personalities while depending on the natural sciences for information about the physical structure of humans and their development among other processes. Since human beings are complicated mixtures of biological and social factors, psychology is a wide discipline and the most experimental among the social sciences. The newest of all the social sciences is sociology which, was established after the other disciplines had already emerged. Sociology can be perceived to be the systematic and scientific study of the social connections of human beings along with all the social systems that are associated with these connections. It studies the human groups of interaction in a particular human society as well as the conduct of entire groups (Perry & Perry, 2012, p. 14). Issues, concepts, tools and practices involved in studying the social world Studies in social sciences are considered as historical since they include going through documents in order to make comparisons with the aim of identifying a pattern that will determine whether they are universal or unique using qualitative means. These qualitative means are mathematical based and employ complex calculations that use mathematical and statistical principles to demonstrate their ideas. Sample survey research designs, usually, entail two distinct features which are the sample and the survey. The researcher makes the decision to study a particular group which is referred to as the population, and this demonstrates the totality of the phenomenon that is the subject of the investigation. In the social sciences, a case study research design is critical when studying specific units in depth or a number of units with the intention of comparing them. On the other hand, in the participant observation, the person conducting the research attempts to participate in the lives of the people that are being studied. The researcher tries to make a connection with the people who are being studied so that he can be able to share their experiences as well as way of life (Perry & Perry, 2012, p. 19). There is no research method available to the social scientists that is completely effective and even though conducting research is hard in all the disciples, social sciences compound the problem of subjectivity and unpredictability of the people behaviour through the huge number of variables that are supposed to be controlled. For that reason, the scientists employ the methodology that seems to be pre-eminently suited to the needs of the inquiry at hand. How social science informs are directly relate to human relations The social science disciples have gone through changes from social philosophies to develop a scientific study of how individuals carry themselves out in their social environments. The various disciplines are relatively new even though the subject they focus on has been at the centre of philosophers studies for many years. The social sciences utilize specific methods as tools for developing theories while implying that the researchers carry out their work with notions that include doubt, as well as moral neutrality. Even though the scientific method is considered better in terms of collection of information through superficial observation and other conventional methods, its application is still difficult in the various disciples of social science since there is a need for objectivity as well as moral neutrality. Throughout the various scientific methods that are in existence, it should be remembered that human relations are associated with all the forms of interactions between people. Studying human connections, therefore, stresses the evaluation the behaviour of humans, dealing with behavioural problems, as well as self-development (Reece & Brandt, 2008, p. 4). References Perry, J., & Perry, E. (2012). Contemporary Society: an introduction to social science (13th ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc. Reece, B. L., & Brandt, R. (2008). Effective human relations: Personal and organizational applications. (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. Read More