Social Science

CONCEPTS AND METHODS
 Is the (scientific) study of human

BEHAVIOR, human RELATIONSHIPS,
and their by-products that include
society, culture and personality.
The study of social science is beneficial to
people because
◦ it develops scientific insights and understanding of

oneself and the social world;
◦ it develops tolerance for other people, their culture

and society;
◦ it provides information, knowledge and theories

that offer ways of approaching and solving
problems scientifically (Kendall 2004).
 To establish a body of scientific knowledge that
is OBJECTIVE, VALID and RELIABLE.
 To develop theories and principles to

understand, explain, analyze, predict and control
human behaviors.
 It does not accept knowledge unless it follows

standardized scientific procedure of collecting,
organizing, generalizing and concluding from
sets of collected data, and, unless it is subjected
to rigorous testing and verifiability by the
discipline and the public, to allow replication of
the study.
 PURE SOCIAL SCIENCE
◦ aims to discover knowledge to develop concepts,
principles, theories and the laws that will lead to
understanding and to explaining human behaviors,
and the social world to satisfy curiosity.
 APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCE

◦ studies human behavior and the social world to get
practical scientific results, to test the applicability
of theories, laws and principles to solve human
problems.
 ANTHROPOLOGY- study of man as an animal and
as an culture-bearing individual who lives in a
given society.
• PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
• CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
 HUMAN GEOGRAPHY- studies the relationship

between humans societies and the natural
environment.
 HISTORY- the systematic accounting of a set of

natural phenomena whether the events are
chronologically arranged or not.
 ECONOMICS- the study of the production and
man’s consumption of goods and services.
 POLITICAL SCIENCE- is the study of the state and

the system of governance.
 SOCIOLOGY- the scientific study of human

groups, society, and the interactions that take
place between people.
 PSYCHOLOGY- is the study of animal and human

behavior; it examines the person’s biological and
mental make-up, the person’s experiences and
functioning, and how it is affected by
environmental, cultural, social and historical
factors.
1. The researcher must protect the subjects
from physical and psychological harm that
have long term negative effects and, as
much as possible, maximize the benefits
of the study.
2. The researcher must allow the subjects

the freedom of choice whether to
participate in the research or not.
3.The researcher must inform the subjects
about the nature and the purpose of the
research. If deception is used, it must be
explained to the subjects right after the end
of the participation of the subjects. The
researcher must seek the consent of his
subjects to use the data during the debriefing
stage.
4. The researcher must ensure that the
subjects be treated fairly and respectfully
during the study.
5. The researcher must assure the subjects

of the confidentiality of their identities
and the information revealed in the
research, such that even the researcher
will find it difficult, if not impossible, to
connect the scientific informant to the
disclosed information.
The scientific method is a problem-solving
process that leads to theory formulation, theory
recasting, and theory supporting activities.
The advantages of using scientific method
are that:
◦ it promotes SKEPTICISM about its own knowledge
claim;
◦ its promotes OBJECTIVITY that its finding should be
free form personal opinions, or prejudices;
◦ it follows a SYSTEMATIC and LOGICAL PROCEDURE in
establishing knowledge to develop consensus or
comparability of results and findings.
1. DEFINE the research problem to identify the
topic.
2. REVIEW past researches and literature to

find new ideas and researches done in the
field and to give justification for the current
research.
3. IDENTIFY, DEFINE, and OPERATIONALIZE the

concepts that will be used in the
formulation of hypotheses.
4. CHOOSE the research design that will:
a. Identify the NUMBER and CHARACTERISTICS
of the POPULATION to be studied, how many
samples will be needed and chosen;
b. Identify the VARIABLES, how they will be

controlled or manipulated, and measured
within a given period of time.
c. Determine the COST of the study.
d. Determine the METHOD of data collection.
e. Formulate HYPOTHESES.
5. COLLECT and ANALYZE the data qualitatively
and quantitatively.
6. MAKE conclusions.
7. REPORT the findings.

 Survey Method
 Historical Study
 Archival Research
 Exploratory Study
 Field Study (Phenomenological)
 Experimental Study
 Case Study
 Program Evaluation Study

 Survey Method
Investigates the occurrences, distribution,
and interrelations among variables in a large
and small randomly selected population to
get a snapshot picture of the opinions,
attitudes and behavior of people at a given
point of time.
 Historical Study
The scientific and critical examination of past
experiences, artifacts, events, and records of the
past to understand and to explain the present,
and to predict the future on the basis of past
events.
 Archival Research
A method of collecting data from census
data, birth certificates, newspaper and other
existing records to support a theory or
hypotheses, to get a picture of the total situation,
and to check the reliability of the results of data
obtained by one or more methods of sciences.
 Exploratory Study
A method of discovering events and their
relationships with one another by noting and
recording ongoing events to provide the
foundations for a more systematic and
rigorous testing of hypotheses.
 Field Study
A post facto study that requires the
researcher to go out in the field to study
relationships and interactions between
variables ( attitudes, values, perceptions, and
behavior) of people in real life situation.
 Experimental Study
A type of research that tests the validity
and reliability of hypotheses, theory, and
principles by introducing changes in research
situations by observing the results under
highly controlled situations.
 Case Study
A detailed, in-depth, intensive, descriptive
investigation of an individual or group or
community experiences and behaviors for a
specific period of time.
 Program Evaluation Study
A type of research that examines and
evaluates an intervention program or projects
to know how effective and useful it is in
helping the recipients of the program or
project.
 OBSERVATION
 INTERVIEW
 QUESTIONNAIRE
 TESTS AND SCALES
 STATISTICAL TOOLS
 OBSERVATION
The use of the five senses and other
scientific instruments to record data with the
objective to discover relatively unknown
events.
Types:
* PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION
* DIRECT OBSERVATION
 INTERVIEW
The verbal exchange of questions and
answers between two or more persons for
purpose of gathering data.
Types:
* UNSTRUCTURED INTERVIEW
* STRUCTURED INTERVIEW
 QUESTIONNAIRE
A written set of standardized questions
administered to respondents; it relies on the
written responses from the respondents and
has a fixed format and contains self-reported
items that are to answered by the
respondents and the answers are taken as
facts.
 TESTS AND SCALES:
TEST- a tool that contains a large set of
questions; the responses of an individual
to the questions are accumulated to
determine the individual attributes. It
contains stimuli to which the person is to
respond by choosing an assigned
numerical value to determine whether he
possess whatever thing is evaluated.
SCALE - is a tool that requires a person to
respond to an object or person to
measure the intensity of attitudes or
feelings towards it. It is an ordinal
measure of variables that indicates a
person’s attitudes or feelings.
 STATISTICAL TOOLS
Are statistical test that determines the
significance or acceptances of the data
collected to support or reject the hypotheses
in the study. These tests determine whether
the relationships between variables in a
sample population are significant or not and
can be applicable to the population where the
sample was taken.
Types:
* Parametric (ANOVA, Coefficient of Correlations)
* Non-Parametric ( Chi Square and Coefficient of
Concordance)

Social Science

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CONCEPTS AND METHODS

 Is the (scientific) study of human

◦ it develops scientific insights and understanding of

◦ it develops tolerance for other people, their culture

◦ it provides information, knowledge and theories

 To develop theories and principles to

 It does not accept knowledge unless it follows

 APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCE

 HUMAN GEOGRAPHY- studies the relationship

 HISTORY- the systematic accounting of a set of

 POLITICAL SCIENCE- is the study of the state and

 SOCIOLOGY- the scientific study of human

 PSYCHOLOGY- is the study of animal and human

2. The researcher must allow the subjects

5. The researcher must assure the subjects

2. REVIEW past researches and literature to

3. IDENTIFY, DEFINE, and OPERATIONALIZE the

b. Identify the VARIABLES, how they will be

c. Determine the COST of the study.

d. Determine the METHOD of data collection.

7. REPORT the findings.

 Field Study (Phenomenological)

 Program Evaluation Study

 TESTS AND SCALES

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