SOCIAL SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY
Characteristics of Social Science

Introduction

One of the livelier academic debates of recent years has concerned the "scientific" status of those disciplines gathered under the rubric of the social sciences-typically including sociology, political science, social psychology, economics, anthropology, and sometimes fields such as geography, history, communications, and other composite and specialty fields, basically at issue like whether human behavior can be subjected to scientific study.

It is a firm assumption of social scientists now-a-days that social behaviour can be subjected to scientific study as legitimately as can atoms, cells and so forth. Like physical scientists, social scientists seek to discover regularity and order. The social scientist looks for regularity in social behavior. He does this through careful observation and measurement, discovery of relationship, and framing of models and theories.

The Search for Social Regularities Measuring Social Phenomena

The first building block of science is measurement, or systematic observation. There is no fundamental reason why social scientists cannot measure phenomena relevant to their enquiry. The age and sex of people can be measured. Place of birth and marital status can be measured in a number of different ways, varying in accuracy and economy.

Aggregate social behaviour can be measured systematically as well. The political scientist can determine, the election-day voting behavior of the entire electorate or of individual precincts. The amount of traffic over a given section of highway can be measured at different points of time. Consumer's behaviour could be measured. Preference patterns for a product can also be measured.

Attitudes may be measured, although this is a point of broad disagreement.