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. …show more content…
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 …show more content…
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
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. …show more content…
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 …show more content…
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