Synthesis Essay Sociology

Synthesis Paper
Dawn I Gaunt
Introduction to Graduate Studies 5093
3 October 2014

Social and natural sciences differ dramatically, but they both play very important roles. Social sciences are concentrated on the human response to the environments that we ourselves have created and the natural environment. Social science experiments, which are documented by human observation, provide no absolutes due to their methods of data collection and analysis. The observations, the sample groups, and the data collectors all may introduce bias to the results of social science experiments. Therefore, there is no guarantee that the findings can be duplicated will duplicated using the same experimental methodology but with different variables.
Natural sciences are the studies of the physical world that surrounds us. They include biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, and geology. Each of these disciplines applies different processes to examine our physical world. Typically, the results of such processes/experiments are expressed quantitatively. The use of concrete, quantifiable data lends an air of irrefutability, and the research methods are carefully selected to produce undebatable results. Because of the processes by which data are collected and represented, natural sciences are often called “hard sciences.”
Chapter 1 of Contemporary Society: An Introduction to Social Science introduces the reader to the different social science disciplines. There are seven different sciences that fall within this category: anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science, psychology, and sociology. According to the text, the common thread connecting these sciences is human behavior in the social environment.
I will briefly define the seven disciplines of social sciences.
Anthropology is the study of a group of people and the shared personalities that they may have due to biology and the environment. Economics is the study of resources and the different systems that humans have put into place to survive. Geography is the study of the earth. It also studies how and why humans use the earth as they do. This is why it is considered a social science. History is a little more difficult to categorize as a social science, but the study of history shows human relationships through time. Political science studies the institutions that govern over the population and the effects that they have on the populace. Psychology studies the motivations behind certain behaviors within individuals. The last discipline, sociology, is the study of human relationships and the effects of the surrounding environment on those
relationships.
The discriminating factor between each of these disciplines is that they each focus on different aspects of the environment and the influences they have on humanity. However, even though these disciplines focus on different aspects of human behavior and the surrounding environment, there is significant overlap among the disciplines. Each of the disciplines factor in why humans do what they do and what effects the environment has on them.
The types of procedures that are used to collect data for social science research include sample survey, case study, participant observation, experiment, and statistical analysis. Data for such observations are acquired by means of many different techniques. Sample surveys are used to study specific groups. The sample is a target group of people about whom information is sought. The survey can take the form of a questionnaire, a personal interview, or an instrument to collect statistical data. The results of a sample survey provide an overarching report on a group of people, even though all of the members of the group have not been questioned. A case study is an in-depth study of a particular person or group. All of the group members are investigated to gather information. Participant observations are reflective of the case study, but the researcher is also encompassed within the group being studied. A researcher who uses the participant observation method will build close ties with the members of the target group so as to share their experiences. Even though the researcher may be enmeshed within the target group, the other group members may be unaware of his or her intentions of collecting data. This method is used more by sociologists and anthropologists. The experimental method can be carried out within a laboratory or out in the field. In both settings, the experiment is conducted under a controlled atmosphere with one variable as a constant. Statistical analysis is a way to process collected data, and it is one of the most preferred forms of data analysis. Performing statistical analysis of the data allows for a researcher to simplify the way that the information is communicated, thus fostering the decision-making process.
Some of the techniques used for collection are borrowed from the natural sciences.
One of the collection methods borrowed from natural science is the scientific method. The use of this method within the social sciences is relatively new. This method has a set of prescribed steps that a researcher must follow to acquire information. The scientific method is characterized by doubt, objectivity, and ethical neutrality. The technique involves the selection and definition of problems and a plan for the collection of data; a statement of a hypothesis; the actual collection of data; their classification, analysis, and verification; and generalization. The process of the scientific method is aimed at eliminating bias and ensuring that the results are as accurate as possible. In saying that, I should add that we are all human, so such results are subject to our own interpretations, which may not match those of another researcher. This process is also difficult for researchers to input verifiable data due to subjectivity, logistics, the unpredictability of human behavior, and a great number of variables that must be controlled. Nonetheless, this process is still a superior choice in conducting
experiments. Over time, social sciences have increasingly incorporated the natural sciences in finding different ways in which people are affected by the environment. This opens many other avenues for social science to discover new therapies, medicines, and factors that affect people. The text also states that scientific conclusions should never be considered an absolute, as they are constrained by the time in which they are obtained. These conclusions are subject to change due to new data, observations, or revisions.