Disciplines and Ideas in the

Social Sciences

Chapter 1 Lesson 1
Prepared by Ms. Rosel Joy Aquino Provido
TOPICS TO BE COVERED

 Definition of Social Science

 Natural Sciences and Humanities
 The Scientific Method and its Applications
 Types of Research Designs
 Qualitative and Quantitative
 Poverty as a Social Issue in the Philippines
 How Social Science Shapes Lives
Definition of Social Science

 September 11, 2001 will forever be remembered in modern

history as a day of infamy. A terrorist group hijacked four
airliners and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the
United States. Two of the planes were flown into the towers of
the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the
Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane
crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Over 3,000 people were
killed during the attacks in New York City and Washington,
D.C., including more than 400 police officers and fire fighters.
Definition of Social Science

 Questions:
 Who is the group behind the attack and what kind of influence do they
hold over the individuals who carried out the attack?
 Why target the United States and ordinary civilians?
 What could have been done to prevent it?

 Such questions may be answered by the different disciplines

under the social sciences, which look into the historical,
cultural, sociological, psychological, and the political forces
that shape the actions of individuals and its impact on society.
Definition of Social Science

 Simply put, Social Science is the study of society.

 It is a useful instrument in understanding the complexities
and issues involved in the interrelationships of the different
variables that produce the state of affairs at every level in
society.
Natural Sciences and Humanities

Social Science Natural Science Humanities

Its primary interest It aims to predict all It seeks to understand

lies in predicting and natural phenomena and human reactions to
explaining human its studies are based on events and the
behaviour. experimentally meanings humans
controlled condition of impose on experience
material entities. as a function of culture,
historical era, and life
history.
The Scientific Method and its Applications

 The use of the scientific method unites the three fields of study although
it is more commonly used in the social sciences and natural sciences than
in humanism.
 The scientific method is a systematic and logical approach in acquiring
and explaining knowledge.
 This method requires critical thinking skills in solving problems.
 It has the same objectives with research, which investigates and studies
different materials and sources in the pursuit of advancing knowledge.
 It is very important in the field of social science since it is the instrument
by which issues and problems are examined and recommendations for
policy-making are offered depending on the findings of the study
conducted.
The Scientific Method and its Applications
Stages of the Research
Process
Define the research
problem
Review the related
literature
Formulate hypothesis
Prepare the research design
Collect data
Analyze data
Interpret the results and
write the report
Key Questions
What are the variables or the units of analysis being studied?
What is the time frame or period of study?
What has already been written about the topic?
What are the research gaps?
What are the specific parameters of the research problem?
What are the means of manipulating the variable and/or measuring the
result of the study?
Is the research going to be descriptive, exploratory, or experimental?
How should the sample be selected from the population?
Will the interviews be done personally or over the phone?
Who are the target participants in the survey?
What do the data reveal about the relationships of the variables being
studied?
How do the data answer the research problem?
What are the social implications and significance of the findings?
Are the sources, both primary and secondary, properly cited in the study?
Group Activity:
Photo Analysis
Instructions:
 Examine the photo
 Each group should identify key issues or problems in society as
reflected in the photo.
 Explain how the social sciences can be used to address the issue or
social problem.
Photo Analysis
Assignment: 1 whole sheet of paper

 What is a research design?

 Give at least 5 examples of research designs and provide their characteristics
 What are the 2 types of scientific methodologies that is use in social science
research.
 Cite your sources.
Types of Research Designs

 The research design sets the direction of the whole study.

 It determines the type of data that will be used in the
study, the methodology that will be used in gathering and
analyzing data, and the direction of the narrative, which
ultimately addresses the research problem.
Some Examples of Research Designs and
their Characteristics
Type Characteristics
1. Descriptive It provides answers to basic questions associated with the research problem. It
Research may not be able to conclusively provide the answer to the question “why” but it is
able to describe “what exists” with respect to the variables of a given situation.

Example: A descriptive study of the factors that lead to domestic violence

2. Historical This design collects, verifies, and synthesizes evidence from the past in order to
Research validate or reject a hypothesis. It uses secondary sources and a variety of primary
sources like newspaper clippings, diaries, government records, and archival
materials.

Example: Martial law in the Philippines: the golden or the cursed years in the
country’s history?
Some Examples of Research Designs and
their Characteristics
Type Characteristics
3. Experimental This type of research answers the question, “What causes something to occur?”
Research This design uses both an experimental group and a control group, which allows
a measurement of the dependent variable when the independent variable is
administered to the experimental group and not to the control group.

Example: A study on the effect of sleep deprivation on health and productivity

4. Exploratory This design tackles research problems that have little or no previous studies
Research done on it. It aims to develop tentative theories or hypotheses on research
problems that are still in the preliminary stages of investigation.

Example: A comparative study on the effectiveness of same sex parenting vis-à-

vis conventional parenting
Some Examples of Research Designs and
their Characteristics
Types Characteristics
5.Cross-sectional The design measures similarities or differences across groups and subjects. A
Research specific variable is examined across different groups or subjects. It is rather
limited because it does not capture the process of change following
intervention.

Example: A study on the incidence of breast cancer across different age

groups of women
6. Longitudinal It studies the same sample across time or across regular time intervals. This
Research type of study allows researchers to track challenges that occur over a period
of and identify the variable or variables that might be causing the changes.

Example: A study on the effect of TV programming to violent behaviour

among children
Some Examples of Research Designs and
their Characteristics
Types Characteristics
7. Sequential Research This is a type of research design carried out in a series over a time interval.
It has no predetermined sample size as the researcher can accept the null
hypothesis, accept an alternative hypothesis, or choose a new set of
samples and repeat the study once again.

Example: Improving school conditions by changing public policy in South Los

Angeles: the Community Coalition Partnership
8. Case Study This type of design is applied to study a very particular research problem.
This is used to test whether a specific theory or model is applicable to real
world issues or scenarios.

Example: A study on the effects of diet, exercise, and common medication

on heart disease conducted across different age groups.
Some Examples of Research Designs and
their Characteristics
Types Characteristics
9. Meta-analysis This is a type of design that evaluates and summarizes the results of
other individual studies. It requires strict adherence to a set criteria
in selecting the studies that will be used. An analysis of the previous
studies increases the explanatory power of the new study.

Example: Fertility and women’s employment: A meta-analysis

Qualitative method

 It analyzes qualitative data such as interviews, narratives,

and literary texts.
 The emphasis in qualitative analysis is “sense-making” or
understanding a phenomenon, rather than predicting or
explaining.
 This method relies heavily on the knowledge of the
researcher of the social context of the gathered data.
Quantitative Method

 It analyses quantifiable or numeric data and subjects

them to statistical analyses.
 While statistics or numerical data does not provide an
absolute measurement of human ideals like happiness or
quality education, it does provide measurement of its
indicators like the size of the population of the country,
the presence or absence of corruption, or the levels of the
Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Qualitative and Quantitative Method

 In some cases, a research methodology may employ a combination of both

quantitative and qualitative.
 The date collection includes both numeric and text information like
interviews.

Qualitative Mixed Quantitative

Poverty as a Social Issue in the
Philippines
 According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the poverty incidence among
Filipinos for the first quarter of 2015 is at 26.3 percent. This is lower
compared to the same period in 2012 when the poverty incidence is at 27.9
percent.
 Subsistence incidence on the other hand for the first quarter of 2015 is
estimated at 12.1 percent. The rate is also lower compared to the same
period in 2012 when the subsistence incidence is 13.4 percent.
 While there is some hope in seeing an improvement in the incidence of
poverty and subsistence in the country, this has to be analysed together with
the identified poverty threshold.
Poverty as a Social Issue in the
Philippines
 Poverty threshold is the minimum income required to meet the basic needs
like food, clothing, housing, transportation, health, and education expenses.
 The poverty threshold for the first semester of 2015, is 9,140 pesos on the
average, while the food threshold is at 6,365 pesos.
 These numbers indicate that close to 70 percent of the household income
goes to food expenses.
 This has a serious impact on the quality of life and labor productivity of the
people.
How Social Science Shapes Lives

 For government policies,

 Conducting a study before implementing a policy or a project will minimize or even
prevent wastage.
 A scientific study will reveal the necessity of the project, the number of
beneficiaries expected to gain from the project, and may even provide possibly
more cost-effective alternatives.
 Example: Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps)
 The program aims to break the cycle of poverty by providing immediate monetary
assistance to the poorest of the poor in the short term and investing in human capital, like
nutrition and education, in the long term.
Other Applications of the Social Sciences

 Framing legislative policies in relation to political and social issues of class,

gender, and power.
 Recommendations on changes on environmental use with respect to
geography studies on climate change.
 Preservation of cultural diversity and respect for traditions in this period of
globalization.
 Exchange of culture and ideas in the macrolevel and breakdown of families in
the microlevel as a result of economic migration by Filipino workers.
 Infrastructural changes resulting from population studies.
Quiz for Lesson 1

¼ sheet of paper
Assignment

 Review the various disciplines of Social Science

 Focus on the origin of the discipline

 Output: 1 whole sheet of paper

 Explain how the disciplines (9) are related to each other