What Is the Scope of Social Sciences?

The social sciences have a wide scope when it comes to the fields of study and the different subcategories they include. To name a few, the social sciences include cultural anthropology, economics, political science, sociology, criminology and psychology. When a person refers to a science or study’s scope, they are talking about what someone can say and do in their field.

For example, biology is not one of the social sciences, so no matter how intelligent a sociologist may be, they are not a reliable source of medical advice. Basically, any science that focuses on the actions and interactions of people is a social science. Because the social sciences deal with human behavior, some people consider these sciences to be more of a discipline. The scope of these sciences focuses on the observation of human behavior more than experimentation. Ethical and moral aspects to the social sciences prevent radical experiments in these field.

Anything that has to do with human behavior and understanding falls under the scope of the social sciences. The scope of the social sciences also includes the collective knowledge of fields such as social work and welfare, archaeology and linguistics. Someone always already knows from experience what the social sciences seek to prove and explain.