Outline of social science
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The social sciences are the sciences concerned with societies, human behaviour, and social relationships.


Definition

Social science can be described as all of the following: * A science – systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe."... modern science is a discovery as well as an invention. It was a discovery that nature generally acts regularly enough to be described by laws and even by
mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
; and required invention to devise the techniques, abstractions, apparatus, and organization for exhibiting the regularities and securing their law-like descriptions." —p.vii,
J. L. Heilbron John Lewis Heilbron (born 17 March 1934, San Francisco) is an American historian of science best known for his work in the history of physics and the history of astronomy. He is Professor of History and Vice-Chancellor Emeritus (Vice-Chancellor ...
, (2003, editor-in-chief). ''The Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science''. New York: Oxford University Press. .
* Major category of academic disciplines – an academic discipline is focused study in one academic field or profession. A discipline incorporates expertise, people, projects, communities, challenges, studies, inquiry, and research areas that are strongly associated with academic areas of study or areas of professional practice. For example, the branches of science are commonly referred to as the scientific disciplines. For instance, gravitation is strongly associated with the discipline of physics, and is considered to be part of that disciplinary knowledge.


Branches of social science

* Anthropology - the study of humans, past and present, that draws and builds upon knowledge from the social sciences and biological sciences, as well as the humanities and the natural sciences. **
Anthropology of religion Anthropology of religion is the study of religion in relation to other social institutions, and the comparison of religious beliefs and practices across cultures. History Al-Biruni (973–1048), wrote detailed comparative studies on the anthropo ...
– the study of religious institutions about other social institutions, and the comparison of religious beliefs and practices across cultures **
Applied anthropology Applied anthropology is the application of the methods and theory of anthropology to the analysis and solution of practical problems. In ''Applied Anthropology: Domains of Application'', Kedia and Van Willigen define the process as a "complex of ...
– application of the method and theory of anthropology to the analysis and solution of practical problems. ** Archaeology – the study of cultures via material remains and environmental data ( Outline of archaeology) **
Cultural anthropology Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans. It is in contrast to social anthropology, which perceives cultural variation as a subset of a posited anthropological constant. The portma ...
– a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans, collecting data about the effect of global economic and political processes on local cultural realities. **
Ethnobiology ] Ethnobiology is the scientific study of the way living things are treated or used by different human cultures. It studies the dynamic relationships between people, biota, and environments, from the distant past to the immediate present.culture ...
– the scientific study of dynamic relationships between peoples, biota, and environments, from the distant past to the immediate present. **
Ethnobotany Ethnobotany is the study of a region's plants and their practical uses through the traditional knowledge of a local culture and people. An ethnobotanist thus strives to document the local customs involving the practical uses of local flora for m ...
– is the study of a region's plants and their practical uses through the traditional knowledge of local culture and people. **
Ethnography Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...
– the systematic study of people and cultures. ** Ethnology – a branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnic, racial, and/or national divisions of humanity. ** Ethnopoetics – method of recording text versions of oral poetry or narrative performances (i.e., verbal lore) that uses poetic lines, verses, and stanzas (instead of prose paragraphs) to capture the formal, poetic performance elements which would otherwise be lost in the written texts. ** Evolutionary anthropology – an interdisciplinary study of the evolution of human physiology and human behaviour and the relation between hominids and non-hominid primates. ** Experimental archaeology – Experimental archaeology employs several different methods, techniques, analyses, and approaches to generate and test hypotheses, based upon the archaeological source material, like ancient structures or artifacts. ** Historical archaeology – a form of archaeology dealing with topics that are already attested in written records. ** Linguistic anthropology – is the interdisciplinary study of how language influences social life. ** Medical anthropology – an interdisciplinary field that studies "human health and disease, health care systems, and biocultural adaptation". **
Physical anthropology Biological anthropology, also known as physical anthropology, is a scientific discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings, their extinct Hominini, hominin ancestors, and related non-human primates, particularly ...
– the study of the physical development of the human species. **
Psychological anthropology Psychological anthropology is an interdisciplinary subfield of anthropology that studies the interaction of cultural and mental processes. This subfield tends to focus on ways in which humans' development and enculturation within a particular ...
– interdisciplinary subfield of anthropology that studies the interaction of cultural and mental processes. ** Zooarchaeology – study of faunal remains. **
Anthrozoology Anthrozoology, also known as human–nonhuman-animal studies (HAS), is the subset of ethnobiology that deals with biological interaction, interactions between humans and other animals. It is an interdisciplinary field that overlaps with other ...
– study of human-animal interaction. * The arts – refers to the theory and physical expression of creativity found in human culture and societies. **
Culinary arts Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs or ...
– are the
cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, customs, and ingredients combine to ...
arts of
food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...
preparation, cooking, and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. **
Literary Arts Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include o ...
– refers to writing considered to be an art form or any single writing deemed to have artistic or intellectual value, often due to deploying language in ways that differ from ordinary usage. **
Performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...
– refers to forms of art in which artists use their voices, bodies or inanimate object to convey artistic expression. ** Visual arts – are art forms such as painting,
drawing Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, ...
,
printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed techniq ...
, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. *
Business studies Business studies, often simply called business, is a field of study that deals with the principles of business, management, and economics. It combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource management, a ...
– an academic area that consists of many sub-areas about the social relationships that comprise the human economic systems. ** Accountancy – the measurement, processing and communication of financial information about economic entities. **
Finance Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...
– a field dealing with the study of investments. ** Commerce ** Management – the administration of an organization, whether it be a business, a not-for-profit organization, or government body. ***
Human resource management Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...
– a function in organizations designed to maximize employee performance in service of an employer's strategic objectives. ** Marketing – the study and management of exchange relationships. ** Organizational studies – the examination of how individuals construct organizational structures, processes, and practices and how these, in turn, shape social relations and create institutions that ultimately influence people. * Economics – details of this area and its sub-areas are provided in this taxonomy below. *** Economics – analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. It aims to explain how economies work and how economic agents interact. ****
Macroeconomics Macroeconomics (from the Greek prefix ''makro-'' meaning "large" + ''economics'') is a branch of economics dealing with performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of an economy as a whole. For example, using interest rates, taxes, and ...
– branch of economics dealing with the performance, structure, behaviour, and decision-making of the whole economy ****
Microeconomics Microeconomics is a branch of mainstream economics that studies the behavior of individuals and firms in making decisions regarding the allocation of scarce resources and the interactions among these individuals and firms. Microeconomics fo ...
– branch of economics that studies the behaviour of individual households and firms in making decisions on the allocation of limited resources **** Behavioural economics – Behavioral economics and the related field, behavioural finance, study the effects of social, cognitive and emotional factors on the economic decisions of individuals and institutions and the consequences for market prices, returns and resource allocation. **** Bioeconomics – applies the laws of thermodynamics to economic theory ****
Comparative economics Comparative Economic Systems is the sub-classification of economics dealing with the comparative study of different systems of economic organization, such as capitalism, socialism, feudalism and the mixed economy. It is widely held to have been f ...
– a comparative study of different systems of economic organization, such as capitalism, socialism, feudalism and the mixed economy. **** Socialist economics – economic theories and practices of hypothetical and existing socialist economic systems. **** Development economics – branch of economics which deals with economic aspects of the development process in low-income countries. **** Ecological economics – an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary field that aims to address the interdependence and coevolution of human economies and natural ecosystems. **** Economic geography – the study of the location, distribution and spatial organization of economic activities across the world. **** Economic history – study of economies or economic phenomena in the past. **** Economic sociology – studies both the social effects and the social causes of various economic phenomena. **** Energy economics – broad scientific subject area which includes topics related to supply and use of energy in societies ****
Entrepreneurial Economics Entrepreneurial economics is the study of the entrepreneur and entrepreneurship within the economy. The accumulation of factors of production per se does not explain economic development. They are necessary factors of production, but they are not s ...
– the study of the entrepreneur and entrepreneurship within the economy. **** Environmental economics – subfield of economics concerned with environmental issues. **** Evolutionary economics – part of mainstream economics as well as a heterodox school of economic thought that is inspired by evolutionary biology. **** Financial economics – branch of economics concerned with "the allocation and deployment of economic resources, both spatially and across time, in an uncertain environment". ****
Heterodox economics Heterodox economics is any economic thought or theory that contrasts with orthodox schools of economic thought, or that may be beyond neoclassical economics.Frederic S. Lee, 2008. "heterodox economics," ''The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics' ...
– approaches or to schools of economic thought that are considered outside of "mainstream economics" and sometimes contrasted by expositors with neoclassical economics. **** Green economics – one that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks ****
Feminist economics Feminist economics is the critical study of economics and economies, with a focus on gender-aware and inclusive economic inquiry and policy analysis. Feminist economic researchers include academics, activists, policy theorists, and practition ...
– a diverse area of economic inquiry that highlights the androcentric biases of traditional economics through critical examinations of economic methodology, epistemology, history and empirical study. **** Islamic economics – body of Islamic studies literature that "identifies and promotes an economic order that conforms to Islamic scripture and traditions," and in the economic world an interest-free Islamic banking system, grounded in Sharia's condemnation of interest (riba). **** Industrial organization – field of economics that builds on the theory of the firm in examining the structure of, and boundaries between, firms and markets. **** International economics – study of the effects upon economic activity of international differences in productive resources and consumer preferences and the institutions that affect them. ****
Institutional economics Institutional economics focuses on understanding the role of the Sociocultural evolution, evolutionary process and the role of institutions in shaping Economy, economic Human behavior, behavior. Its original focus lay in Thorstein Veblen's instin ...
– the study of the role of the evolutionary process and the role of institutions in shaping economic behaviour. **** Labor economics – seeks to understand the functioning and dynamics of the markets for labour. **** Law and Economics – application of economic methods to the analysis of law. **** Managerial economics – "application of economic concepts and economic analysis to the problems of formulating rational managerial decisions" **** Monetary economics – branch of economics that historically prefigured and remains integrally linked to macroeconomics. **** Neoclassical economics – focuses on goods, outputs, and income distributions in markets through supply and demand. **** Public finance – the study of the role of the government in the economy. **** Public economics – the study of a government policy through the lens of economic efficiency and equity. ****
Real estate economics Real estate economics is the application of economic techniques to real estate markets. It tries to describe, explain, and predict patterns of prices, supply, and demand. The closely related field of housing economics is narrower in scope, conc ...
– application of economic techniques to real estate markets. ****
Resource economics Natural resource economics deals with the supply, demand, and allocation of the Earth's natural resources. One main objective of natural resource economics is to better understand the role of natural resources in the economy in order to develo ...
– the study of supply, demand, and allocation of the Earth's natural resources. **** Welfare economics – branch of economics that uses microeconomic techniques to evaluate economic well-being, especially relative to competitive general equilibrium within an economy as to economic efficiency and the resulting income distribution associated with it. **** Political economy – the study of the production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. **** Socioeconomics – considers behavioural interactions of individuals and groups through social capital and social "markets" (not excluding, for example, sorting by marriage) and the formation of social norms. ****
Transport economics Transport economics is a branch of economics founded in 1959 by American economist John R. Meyer that deals with the allocation of resources within the transport sector. It has strong links to civil engineering. Transport economics differs from ...
– branch of economics that deals with the allocation of resources within the transport sector and has strong linkages with civil engineering. **** Economic methodology – the study of methods, especially the scientific method, about economics, including principles underlying economic reasoning. **** Computational economics – research discipline at the interface between computer science and economic and management science. **** Econometrics – application of mathematics and statistical methods to economic data ****
Mathematical economics Mathematical economics is the application of mathematical methods to represent theories and analyze problems in economics. Often, these applied methods are beyond simple geometry, and may include differential and integral calculus, difference an ...
– application of mathematical methods to represent economic theories and analyze problems posed in economics. **** Economic statistics – topic in applied statistics that concerns the collection, processing, compilation, dissemination, and analysis of economic data. **** Time series – sequence of data points, measured typically at successive time instants spaced at uniform time intervals. **** Experimental economics – application of experimental methods to study economic questions. * Cognitive science – the interdisciplinary scientific study of the mind and its processes. It examines what cognition is, what it does and how it works. *
Cultural studies Cultural studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the political dynamics of contemporary culture (including popular culture) and its historical foundations. Cultural studies researchers generally investigate how cultural practices re ...
– academic field grounded in critical theory and literary criticism. * Demography – statistical study of human populations and sub-populations. * Development studies – a multidisciplinary branch of social science that addresses issues of concern to developing countries. * Education – in the general sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character, or physical ability of an individual. In its technical sense, education is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills, and values from one generation to another. *
Environmental studies Environmental studies is a multidisciplinary academic field which systematically studies human interaction with the environment. Environmental studies connects principles from the physical sciences, commerce/economics, the humanities, and social ...
– the interdisciplinary academic field which systematically studies human interaction with the environment. * Folkloristics – the study of tradition as a social force within complex societies. * Gender and sexuality studies – field of interdisciplinary study and academic field devoted to gender identity and gendered representation as central categories of analysis. * Geography – the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. ** Physical geography – a branch of the social sciences that studies physical features on the Earth's surface, water, the atmosphere and biodiversity on the Earth. ***
Geomorphology Geomorphology (from Ancient Greek: , ', "earth"; , ', "form"; and , ', "study") is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or n ...
– branch of physical geography that studies the Earth and its landforms. *** Hydrology – study of water on the Earth's surface and in its atmosphere. *** Glaciology – study of ice sheets and glaciers on the Earth's surface. ***
Biogeography Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities often vary in a regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, ...
– study of the distribution of living organisms on the Earth. *** Climatology – the study of climate. *** Meteorology – the study of weather. *** Soil geography – the study of soil. ***
Oceanography Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...
– the study of oceans. ***
Coastal geography Coastal geography is the study of the constantly changing region between the ocean and the land, incorporating both the physical geography (i.e. coastal geomorphology, climatology and oceanography) and the human geography (sociology and history) ...
– study of coasts. *** Landscape ecology – the study of effects of the ecological process on the Earth. *** Palaeogeography – studies distribution of continents and oceans over time. *** Environmental geography – studies the interaction between humans and the physical environment. ** Cartography – study and practice of making maps or globes. ** Human geography – the branch of the social sciences that studies the world, its people, communities, and cultures with an emphasis on relations of and across space and place. *** Critical geography – takes a critical theory (Frankfurt School) approach to the study and analysis of geography. *** Cultural geography – the study of cultural products and norms and their variations across and relations to spaces and places. ***
Feminist geography Feminist geography is a sub-discipline of human geography that applies the theories, methods, and critiques of feminism to the study of the human environment, society, and geographical space. Feminist geography emerged in the 1970s, when members ...
– approach in human geography which applies the theories, methods and critiques of feminism to the study of the human environment, society and geographical space. *** Economic geography – study of the location, distribution and spatial organization of economic activities across the world. ***
Development geography Development geography is a branch of geography which refers to the standard of living and its quality of life of its human inhabitants. In this context, development is a process of change that affects peoples' lives. It may involve an improvement ...
– branch of geography concerning the standard of living and quality of life of its human inhabitants. *** Historical geography – study of the human, physical, fictional, theoretical, and "real" geographies of the past. *** Time geography – ***
Political geography Political geography is concerned with the study of both the spatially uneven outcomes of political processes and the ways in which political processes are themselves affected by spatial structures. Conventionally, for the purposes of analysis, po ...
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geopolitics Geopolitics (from Greek γῆ ''gê'' "earth, land" and πολιτική ''politikḗ'' "politics") is the study of the effects of Earth's geography (human and physical) on politics and international relations. While geopolitics usually refers to ...
– field of human geography that is concerned with the study of both the spatially uneven outcomes of political processes and how political processes are themselves affected by spatial structures. *** Marxist geography – strand of critical geography that uses the theories and philosophy of Marxism to examine the spatial relations of human geography. *** Military geography – sub-field of geography that is used by, not only the military but also academics and politicians to understand the geopolitical sphere through the militaristic lens. *** Strategic geography – concerned with the control of, or access to, spatial areas that affect the security and prosperity of nations. ***
Population geography Population geography relates spatial variations in the distribution, composition, migration, and growth of populations to the terrain. Population geography involves demography in a geographical perspective. It focuses on the characteristics of po ...
– the study of how spatial variations in the distribution, composition, migration, and growth of populations are related to the nature of places. ***
Social geography Social geography is the branch of human geography that is interested in the relationships between society and space, and is most closely related to social theory in general and sociology in particular, dealing with the relation of social phenomena ...
– branch of human geography that is most closely related to social theory in general and sociology in particular, dealing with the relation of social phenomena and its spatial components. *** Behavioral geography – approach to human geography that examines human behaviour using a disaggregated approach. *** Children's geographies – area of study within human geography and Childhood Studies which involves researching the places and spaces of children's lives. *** Health geography – application of geographical information, perspectives, and methods to the study of health, disease, and health care. *** Tourism geography – a study of travel and tourism, as an industry and as a social and cultural activity. *** Urban geography – the study of areas that have a high concentration of buildings and infrastructure. ** Environmental geography – a branch of geography that describes the spatial aspects of interactions between humans and the natural world. **
Regional geography Regional geography is a major branch of geography. It focuses on the interaction of different cultural and natural geofactors in a specific land or landscape, while its counterpart, systematic geography, concentrates on a specific geofactor at the ...
– the study of world regions. *
Gerontology Gerontology ( ) is the study of the social, cultural, psychological, cognitive, and biological aspects of aging. The word was coined by Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov in 1903, from the Greek , ''geron'', "old man" and , ''-logia'', "study of". The fie ...
– the study of the social, psychological and biological aspects of aging. * History – discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period after writing was invented. This category includes many sub-domains of history such as art history, diplomatic history, history of science, economic history, environmental history, military history, political history, urban history, women's history and many others. * Industrial relations – the multidisciplinary field that studies the employment relationship. * Information science – interdisciplinary field primarily concerned with the analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information. * International studies – the study of the major political, economic, social, cultural and sacral issues that dominate the international agenda * Law – set of rules and principles (laws) by which a society is governed, through enforcement by governmental authorities. *
Legal management Enterprise legal management (ELM) is a practice management strategy of corporate legal departments, insurance claims departments, and government legal and contract management departments. ELM developed during the 1990s in response to increased ...
– social sciences discipline that is designed for students interested in the study of State and its elements, Law, Law Practice, Legal Research and Jurisprudence, legal Philosophy, Criminal Justice, Governance, Government structure, Political history and theories, Business Organization and Management, Entrepreneurship, Public Administration and Human Resource Development. **
Paralegal studies Legal management or paralegal studies is an academic, vocational, and professional discipline that is a hybrid between the study of law and management (i.e., business administration, public administration, etc.). Often, alumni of legal managemen ...
– social sciences discipline that is designed for students interested in the study of State and its elements, Law, Law Practice, Legal Research and Jurisprudence, legal Philosophy, Criminal Justice, Governance, Government structure, Political history and theories, Business Organization and Management, Entrepreneurship, Public Administration and Human Resource Development. * Library science – the study of issues related to libraries and the information fields. * Linguistics – the scientific study of natural language. **
Anthropological linguistics Anthropological linguistics is the subfield of linguistics and anthropology which deals with the place of language in its wider social and cultural context, and its role in making and maintaining cultural practices and societal structures. Whil ...
– the study of the relations between language and culture and the relations between human biology, cognition and language. ** Applied linguistics – an interdisciplinary field of study that identifies, investigates, and offers solutions to language-related real-life problems. ** Biolinguistics – study of the biology and evolution of language. ** Clinical linguistics and speech and language pathology – a sub-discipline of linguistics that involves the application of linguistic theory to the field of Speech-Language Pathology. ** Cognitive linguistics – a branch of linguistics that interprets language in terms of the concepts, sometimes universal, sometimes specific to a particular tongue, which underlies its forms. **
Comparative linguistics Comparative linguistics, or comparative-historical linguistics (formerly comparative philology) is a branch of historical linguistics that is concerned with comparing languages to establish their historical relatedness. Genetic relatedness ...
– the branch of historical linguistics that is concerned with comparing languages to establish their historical relatedness. **
Computational linguistics Computational linguistics is an Interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary field concerned with the computational modelling of natural language, as well as the study of appropriate computational approaches to linguistic questions. In general, comput ...
– interdisciplinary field dealing with the statistical or rule-based modelling of natural language from a computational perspective. ** Developmental linguistics – the study of the development of linguistic ability in an individual, particularly the acquisition of language in childhood. ***
language acquisition Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language (in other words, gain the ability to be aware of language and to understand it), as well as to produce and use words and sentences to ...
– the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language, as well as to produce and use words to communicate. ** Dialectology – the scientific study of linguistic dialect, a sub-field of sociolinguistics. *** dialectometry – the study of high levels of structure in geographical dialect networks. ** Discourse analysis – a general term for several approaches to analyzing the use of written, oral or sign language or any significant semiotic event. ** Etymology – the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time. ** Evolutionary linguistics – the scientific study of both the origins and development of language as well as the cultural evolution of languages. ** Forensic linguistics – application of linguistic knowledge, methods and insights to the forensic context of law, language, crime investigation, trial, and judicial procedure. **
Geolinguistics Geolinguistics has been identified by some as being a branch of linguistics and by others as being an offshoot of language geography which is further defined in terms of being a branch of human geography. When seen as a branch of linguistics, geolin ...
– branch of human geography that studies the geographic distribution of language or its constituent elements. ** Historical linguistics – the study of language change. ** Language – is a structured means of communication **
Lexis Lexis may refer to: * Lexis (linguistics), the total bank of words and phrases of a particular language, the artifact of which is known as a lexicon *Lexis (Aristotle), a complete group of words in a language *LexisNexis, part of the LexisNexis onl ...
– total vocabulary or lexicon having items of lexical, rather than grammatical, meaning. **
Linguistic typology Linguistic typology (or language typology) is a field of linguistics that studies and classifies languages according to their structural features to allow their comparison. Its aim is to describe and explain the structural diversity and the co ...
– subfield of linguistics that studies and classifies languages according to their structural features. ** Literature – refers to writing considered to be an art form or any single writing deemed to have artistic or intellectual value, often due to deploying language in ways that differ from ordinary usage. ** Mathematics linguistics – Mathematics has been applied in linguistics for analysis, grammar logic and other theoretical aspects in linguistics. ** Morphology – identification, analysis and description of the structure of a given language's morphemes and other linguistic units, such as words, affixes, parts of speech, intonation/stress, or implied context (words in a lexicon are the subject matter of lexicology). **
Neurolinguistics Neurolinguistics is the study of neural mechanisms in the human brain that controls the comprehension, production, and acquisition of language. As an interdisciplinary field, neurolinguistics draws methods and theories from fields such as n ...
– the study of the neural mechanisms in the human brain that control the comprehension, production, and acquisition of language. ** Philology – the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics. ** Phonetics – a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech, or the equivalent aspects of sign. ** Phonology – the branch of linguistics concerned with the systematic organization of sounds in languages. ** Phraseology – the study of the set or fixed expressions, such as idioms, phrasal verbs, and other types of multi-word lexical units (often collectively referred to as phrasemes), in which the parts of the expression take on a meaning more specific than or otherwise not predictable from the sum of their meanings when used independently. ** Pragmatics – subfield of linguistics that studies how context contributes to meaning. **
Psycholinguistics Psycholinguistics or psychology of language is the study of the interrelation between linguistic factors and psychological aspects. The discipline is mainly concerned with the mechanisms by which language is processed and represented in the mind ...
– the study of the psychological and neurobiological factors that enable humans to acquire, use, comprehend and produce language. **
Sociolinguistics Sociolinguistics is the descriptive study of the effect of any or all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used, and society's effect on language. It can overlap with the sociology of l ...
– a descriptive study of the effect of any aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language, is used, and the effects of language use on society. ** Speech science – Speech science refers to the study of production, transmission and perception of speech. Speech science involves anatomy, in particular the anatomy of the oro-facial region and neuroanatomy, physiology, and acoustics. **
Stylistics Stylistics, a branch of applied linguistics, is the study and interpretation of texts of all types and/or spoken language in regard to their linguistic and tonal style, where style is the particular variety of language used by different individu ...
– study and interpretation of texts from a linguistic perspective. **
Syntax In linguistics, syntax () is the study of how words and morphemes combine to form larger units such as phrases and sentences. Central concerns of syntax include word order, grammatical relations, hierarchical sentence structure ( constituency) ...
– "the study of the principles and processes by which sentences are constructed in particular languages." ** Semantics – the study of meaning. ** Writing systems and orthography – representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols (known as a writing system). * Management– in addition to the administration of an organization, it is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively. *
Media studies Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media Studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly ...
– academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history and effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media. **
Communication studies Communication studies or communication science is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in differen ...
– an academic field that deals with processes of human communication, commonly defined as the sharing of symbols to create meaning. * Political science – social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government, and politics. ** Civics – the study of the theoretical and practical aspects of citizenship, its rights and duties; the duties of citizens to each other as members of a political body and to the government. ** Comparative politics – field and a method used in political science, characterized by an empirical approach based on the comparative method. **
Game theory Game theory is the study of mathematical models of strategic interactions among rational agents. Myerson, Roger B. (1991). ''Game Theory: Analysis of Conflict,'' Harvard University Press, p.&nbs1 Chapter-preview links, ppvii–xi It has appli ...
– the study of strategic decision making. **
Geopolitics Geopolitics (from Greek γῆ ''gê'' "earth, land" and πολιτική ''politikḗ'' "politics") is the study of the effects of Earth's geography (human and physical) on politics and international relations. While geopolitics usually refers to ...
– a theory that describes the relationship between politics and territory whether on a local or international scale. ***
political geography Political geography is concerned with the study of both the spatially uneven outcomes of political processes and the ways in which political processes are themselves affected by spatial structures. Conventionally, for the purposes of analysis, po ...
– field of human geography that is concerned with the study of both the spatially uneven outcomes of political processes and how political processes are themselves affected by spatial structures. ** Ideology – a set of ideas that constitute one's goals, expectations, and actions. ** Political economy – Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy. It developed in the 18th century as the study of the economies of states, polities, hence political economy. ** Political psychology – bureaucratic, administrative and judicial behaviour ** Psephology – the branch of political science which deals with the study and scientific analysis of elections. ** Voting systems – methods by which voters choose between options, often in an election or on a policy referendum. ** Public administration – houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. *** Public policy – generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state about a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. *** Public health – the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting human health through organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals *** Local government studies – a form of public administration which is a majority of contexts, exists as the lowest tier of administration within the given state. ***
International politics International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the Scientific method, scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities betwe ...
– the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations (IGOs), international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and multinational corporations (MNCs). ****
International relations theory International relations theory is the study of international relations (IR) from a theoretical perspective. It seeks to explain causal and constitutive effects in international politics. Ole Holsti describes international relations theories as a ...
– the study of international relations from a theoretical perspective; it attempts to provide a conceptual framework upon which international relations can be analyzed. * Psychology – the science of behaviour and mental processes ** Abnormal psychology - the study of unusual behavior, emotion, and thought in an individual, likely of that as a mental disorder. ** Applied psychology – use of psychological principles and theories to overcome problems in other areas, such as mental health, business management, education, health, product design, ergonomics, and law. *** Psychological testing – field characterized by the use of samples of behaviour to assess psychological construct(s), such as cognitive and emotional functioning, about a given individual. ***
Clinical psychology Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and persona ...
– integration of science, theory and clinical knowledge for understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and personal development. *** Community psychology – Sense of community Social capital *** Consumer behaviour – study of when, why, how, and where people do or do not buy a product. *** Counseling psychology – a psychological specialty that encompasses research and applied for work in several broad domains: counselling process and outcome; supervision and training; career development and counselling; and prevention and health. *** Educational psychology – the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organizations. *** Forensic psychology – the intersection between psychology and the courtroom—criminal, civil, family and Federal. *** Health psychology – concerned with understanding how biological, psychological, environmental, and cultural factors are involved in physical health and illness. *** Industrial and organizational psychology – the scientific study of employees, workplaces, and organizations. *** Legal psychology – involves empirical, psychological research of the law, legal institutions, and people who come into contact with the law. ***
Media psychology Media psychology is the branch and specialty field in psychology that focuses on the interaction of human behavior with media and technology. Media psychology is not limited to mass media or media content; it includes all forms of mediated communi ...
– seeks an understanding of how people perceive, interpret, use, and respond to a media-rich world. *** Military psychology – research, design and application of psychological theories and experimentation data towards understanding, predicting and countering behaviours either in friendly or enemy forces or civilian population that may be undesirable, threatening or potentially dangerous to the conduct of military operations. ***
Occupational health psychology Occupational health psychology (OHP) is an interdisciplinary area of psychology that is concerned with the health and safety of workers.Schonfeld, I.S., & Chang, C.-H. (2017). ''Occupational health psychology: Work, stress, and health''. New York, ...
– concerned with the psychosocial characteristics of workplaces that contribute to the development of health-related problems in people who work. *** Political psychology – an interdisciplinary academic field dedicated to understanding political science, politicians and political behaviour through the use of psychological theories. ***
Psychology of religion Psychology of religion consists of the application of List of psychological research methods, psychological methods and interpretive frameworks to the diverse contents of Religion, religious traditions as well as to both religious and Irreligion, ...
– application of psychological methods and interpretive frameworks to religious traditions, as well as to both religious and irreligious individuals. *** Psychometrics – field of study concerned with the theory and technique of psychological measurement, which includes the measurement of knowledge, abilities, attitudes, personality traits, and educational measurement. *** School psychology – the field that applies principles of clinical psychology and educational psychology to the diagnosis and treatment of children's and adolescents' behavioural and learning problems. ***
Sport psychology Sport psychology was defined by the European Federation of Sport in 1996, as the study of the psychological basis, processes, and effects of sport. Otherwise, sport is considered as any physical activity where the individuals engage for competi ...
– interdisciplinary science that draws on knowledge from the fields of Kinesiology and Psychology. *** Systems psychology – the branch of applied psychology that studies human behaviour and experience in complex systems. ***
Traffic psychology Traffic psychology is a discipline of psychology that studies the relationship between psychological processes and the behavior of road users. In general, traffic psychology aims to apply theoretical aspects of psychology in order to improve traff ...
– the study of the behaviour of road users and the psychological processes underlying that behaviour (Rothengatter, 1997, 223) as well as to the relationship between behaviour and accidents ** Behavior analysis – philosophy of psychology based on the proposition that all things that organisms do can and should be regarded as behaviours, and that psychological disorders are best treated by altering behaviour patterns or modifying the environment. ** Biopsychology – application of the principles of biology (in particular neurobiology), to the study of physiological, genetic, and developmental mechanisms of behaviour in human and non-human animals. **
Clinical psychology Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and persona ...
– integration of science, theory and clinical knowledge for understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and personal development. **
Cognitive psychology Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of mental processes such as attention, language use, memory, perception, problem solving, creativity, and reasoning. Cognitive psychology originated in the 1960s in a break from behaviorism, which ...
– subdiscipline of psychology exploring internal mental processes. ** Cultural psychology – field of psychology which assumes the idea that culture and mind are inseparable, and that psychological theories grounded in one culture are likely to be limited in applicability when applied to a different culture. **
Developmental psychology Developmental psychology is the science, scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult deve ...
– the scientific study of systematic psychological changes, emotional changes, and perception changes that occur in human beings throughout their life span. ** Educational psychology – the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organizations. ** Evolutionary psychology – approach in the social and natural sciences that examines psychological traits such as memory, perception, and language from a modern evolutionary perspective. **
Experimental psychology Experimental psychology refers to work done by those who apply experimental methods to psychological study and the underlying processes. Experimental psychologists employ human participants and animal subjects to study a great many topics, in ...
– application of experimental methods to the study of behaviour and the processes that underlie it. ** Forensic psychology – the intersection between psychology and the courtroom—criminal, civil, family and Federal. ** Health psychology – concerned with understanding how biological, psychological, environmental, and cultural factors are involved in physical health and illness. ** Humanistic psychology – a psychological perspective which rose to prominence in the mid-20th century in the context of the tertiary sector beginning to produce in the most developed countries in the world more than the secondary sector was producing, for the first time in human history demanding creativity and a new understanding of human capital. ** Industrial and organizational psychology – the scientific study of employees, workplaces, and organizations. **
Mathematical psychology Mathematical psychology is an approach to psychological research that is based on mathematical modeling of perceptual, thought, cognitive and motor processes, and on the establishment of law-like rules that relate quantifiable stimulus character ...
– understanding of human nature and mind, all through applications of mathematics theories and concepts along with other methods. ** Music therapy – allied health profession and one of the expressive therapies, consisting of an interpersonal process in which a trained music therapist uses music to help clients to improve or maintain their health. **
Neuropsychology Neuropsychology is a branch of psychology concerned with how a person's cognition and behavior are related to the brain and the rest of the nervous system. Professionals in this branch of psychology often focus on how injuries or illnesses of t ...
– studies the structure and function of the brain as they relate to specific psychological processes and behaviours. ** Personality psychology – the branch of psychology that studies personality and individual differences. ** Psychometrics – field of study concerned with the theory and technique of psychological measurement, which includes the measurement of knowledge, abilities, attitudes, personality traits, and educational measurement. **
Psychology of religion Psychology of religion consists of the application of List of psychological research methods, psychological methods and interpretive frameworks to the diverse contents of Religion, religious traditions as well as to both religious and Irreligion, ...
– application of psychological methods and interpretive frameworks to religious traditions, as well as to both religious and irreligious individuals. **
Psychophysics Psychophysics quantitatively investigates the relationship between physical stimuli and the sensations and perceptions they produce. Psychophysics has been described as "the scientific study of the relation between stimulus and sensation" or, m ...
– quantitatively investigates the relationship between physical stimuli and the sensations and perceptions they affect. **
Sensation and perception psychology A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the central nervous system rec ...
* Religious studies – is an academic field devoted to research into religion beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. * Science and technology studies – the study of how society, politics, and culture affect scientific research and technological innovation, and how these, in turn, affect society, politics and culture. *
Social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...
– a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or perceived social injustices and violations of their human rights. * Sociology – studies society using various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to understand the human social activity, from the micro-level of individual agency and interaction to the macro level of systems and social structure. **
Criminology Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...
– the study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behaviour in both the individual and in society. ** Demography – statistical study of human populations and sub-populations. ** Urban and rural sociology - the analysis of social life in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas. *
Sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...
– the process of meeting human development goals while sustaining the ability of natural systems to continue to provide the natural resources and natural system services upon which the economy of human society depends. ** Sustainable agriculture – farming in sustainable ways based on an understanding of ecosystem services, the study of relationships between organisms and their environment. * Sustainability studies – focuses on the interdisciplinary perspective of the sustainability concept. Programs include instruction in sustainable development, geography, environmental policies, ethics, ecology, landscape architecture, city and regional planning, economics, natural resources, sociology, and anthropology, many of which are considered social sciences in their own right.


History of social science

* History of the social sciences **
History of anthropology History of anthropology in this article refers primarily to the 18th- and 19th-century precursors of modern anthropology. The term anthropology itself, innovated as a New Latin scientific word during the Renaissance, has always meant "the study ...
** History of archaeology ** History of area studies ** History of communication studies ** History of cultural studies ** History of development studies **
History of economics History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
** History of education ** History of environmental studies ** History of gender studies **
History of geography The history of geography includes many histories of geography which have differed over time and between different cultural and political groups. In more recent developments, geography has become a distinct academic discipline. 'Geography' deriv ...
*** History of human geography **
History of history Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians hav ...
** History of information science ** History of journalism **
History of law Legal history or the history of law is the study of how law has evolved and why it has changed. Legal history is closely connected to the development of civilisations and operates in the wider context of social history. Certain jurists and hist ...
** History of library science **
History of linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language, involving analysis of language form, language meaning, and language in context. Language use was first systematically documented in Mesopotamia, with extant lexical lists of the 3rd to the 2nd M ...
** History of management **
History of political science While the term "political science" as a separate field is a rather late arrival in terms of social sciences, analyzing political power and the effects that it had on history has been occurring for centuries. However, the term "political science" wa ...
*** History of international studies ****
History of international relations Diplomatic history deals with the history of international relations between states. Diplomatic history can be different from international relations in that the former can concern itself with the foreign policy of one state while the latter deals ...
*** History of political economy *** History of public administration ** History of psychology ***
History of social psychology Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the rela ...
**
History of social work Social work has its roots in the attempts of society at large to deal with the problem of poverty and inequality. Social work is intricately linked with the idea of charity work; but must be understood in broader terms. The concept of charity goes ...
**
History of sociology Sociology as a scholarly discipline emerged, primarily out of Enlightenment thought, as a positivist ''science of society'' shortly after the French Revolution. Its genesis owed to various key movements in the philosophy of science and the phi ...
*** History of criminal justice *** History of demography **
History of sustainability The history of environmental pollution traces human-dominated ecological systems from the earliest civilizations to the present day. This history is characterized by the increased regional success of a particular society, followed by crises that wer ...


Education and degrees

* Bachelor of Social Science * Bachelor of Science * Bachelor of Arts * Bachelor of Economics


General social science concepts

* Ethical research in social science *
Open and closed systems in social science Ludwig Bertalanffy describes two types of systems: open systems and closed systems. The open systems that we know of are systems that allow interactions between their internal elements and the environment. An open system is defined as a “system ...


Social science organizations


Social science publications

*
List of social science journals The following is a partial list of social science journals, including history and area studies. There are thousands of academic journals covering the social sciences in publication, and many more have been published at various points in the past. T ...


Social scientists

* List of anthropologists *
List of business theorists This is an annotated list of important business writers.The Harvard Business Review asked 200 management gurus—the business thinkers most often mentioned in the media and management literature—who their gurus were. For their responses, ...
*
List of developmental psychologists The following is a list of academics, both past and present, noted for their contributions to the field of developmental psychology. {{compact ToC, side=yes, top=yes, num=yes A *Edith Ackermann (1946–2016) *Lauren Adamson *Mary Ainsworth (1 ...
*
List of economists This is an incomplete alphabetical list by surname of notable economists, experts in the social science of economics, past and present. For a history of economics, see the article History of economic thought. Only economists with biographical artic ...
*
List of socialist economists This article lists notable socialist economists and political economists. Classical economists * Ferdinand Lassalle * John Stuart Mill (later work) Ricardian economists * John Francis Bray * John Gray * Charles Hall * Thomas Hodgskin Utopia ...
*
List of educational psychologists The following is a list of academicians, both past and present, who are widely renowned for their groundbreaking contributions to the field of educational psychology. A * Patricia Alexander * John Robert Anderson (born 1947) * Richard C. An ...
* List of geographers * List of psychologists * List of political scientists * List of social psychologists * List of sociologists * List of urban planners *
List of urban theorists This is a list of urban theorists notable in their field, in alphabetical order: * Christopher Alexander (1936-2022) * Donald Appleyard (1928-1982) * Michael E. Arth * Christopher Charles Benninger (1942) * Walter Block (1941) * Ernest Burgess (1 ...


See also

* Outline of science **
Outline of natural science The following outline (list), outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to natural science: Natural science – a major branch of science that tries to explain, and predict, nature's phenomena based on empirical evidence. In nat ...
*** Outline of physical science **** Outline of earth science **
Outline of formal science The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to formal science: Formal science – branches of knowledge that are concerned with formal systems, such as those under the branches of: logic, mathematics, computer science, s ...
**
Outline of applied science The following Outline (list), outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to applied science: Applied science – the branch of science that applies existing scientific knowledge to develop more practical applications, including i ...
**
National Nothing Day National Nothing Day is an "un-event" proposed in 1972 by columnist Harold Pullman Coffin, and observed in the United States annually on January 16 since 1973, when it was added to '' Chase's Calendar of Events''. Status and purpose It is not act ...


References


External links


Social Science Virtual Library

UC Berkeley Experimental Social Science Laboratory

Intute: Social Sciences
(UK)



Critical Essays
praxeology as the method of the social sciences

in defense of extreme apriorism
{{Outline footer *Outline Social science