Social Science Vs Social Research Essay

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How can the difference in paradigms and thus the difference in explanations of the Kissidougou case be possible? Apparently, natural scientists look different to this case, in other words: from a totally different angle or view. But what is then exactly the difference between social and natural science? Social science is systematically studying human social relations, groups and societies (Appelbaum & Chambliss, 1997). This means social scientists are part of the reality they investigate. In short, social science studies the social world. The social sciences are guided by theory or observation and are believed to always use qualitative methods to study certain phenomena. Outcomes are believed to be interpretations of information. Generalizations …show more content…

Furthermore, the social sciences are believed to have multiple outcomes or truths, and are seen as having no laws. Natural sciences, on the other hand, are defined as disciplines that deal only with natural events (Ledoux, 2002). Thus, natural scientists do investigate something else than social scientists. In short, natural science investigates the natural world. The natural sciences are guided by theory and use quantitative methods. Outcomes are believed to be facts and generalisations of the outcomes of studies are universal (Appelbaum & Chambliss, 1997). Furthermore, natural science is believed to have one truth as outcome and is based on laws. It is important to note that the previous mentioned differences between the natural and social sciences are not that clear and distinct. Social sciences are also able to use quantitative methods to …show more content…

As we can conclude from the previous paragraph, natural scientists have and use different knowledge than social scientists do, because they research something else and thus use other information and sources to come to an understanding of their research question. But what is knowledge exactly? Different kinds of knowledge are different ways to put meaning to people’s experiences and ways to construe the world (Arce, ch9), but are there then multiple different worlds construed? I will now touch upon the following questions: How is social knowledge constructed? Do natural scientists construct knowledge in a different way? And for whom do social scientists and natural scientists construct

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