Social Science and Anthropology

• Social science is the study of society and the relationships among individuals within that society
• There are many branches each studying a particular area of social science
• It differs from natural science, which studies topics such as the physical world
• Empirical investigation and critical analysis are used to develop knowledge about society

Anthropology

• Anthropology is the study of humanity
• Concerned with human behavior, biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species
• Social anthropology studies patterns of behavior
• Cultural anthropology studies cultural meaning, including norms and values
• Linguistic anthropology studies how language affects social life
• Biological (or physical) anthropology studies the biological development of humans
• Archaeological anthropology studies human activity through investigation of physical evidence

Archaeology

• Archaeology studies human history and prehistory through excavation of sites and the analysis of artifacts and other physical remains
• It involves surveying, digging, and eventually analyzing the data to learn more about the past
• A wide range of other skills are useful, including: cartography, statistics, surveying, illustration, photography

Economics

• Economics is a social science that studies how societies allocate scarce resources
• It deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services
• Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work
• Microeconomics examines basic elements in the economy, including individual agents and markets, their interactions, and the outcomes of interactions.
• Individual agents may include, for example, households, firms, buyers, and sellers
• Macroeconomics analyzes the entire economy and issues affecting it, including unemployment, inflation, economic growth, and monetary and fiscal policy

Geography

• Geography is the study of the Earth and its features, inhabitants, and phenomena
• It examines the spatial distribution and interrelationships of physical and human phenomena
• Human geography is concerned with the spatial organization and processes shaping human activities and their relationships with the environment
• Physical geography deals with the study of the natural environment
• Other branches include regional geography, and environmental geography

History

• History is the study of past events
• It is an umbrella term comprising past events as well as the memory, discovery, collection, organization, presentation, and interpretation of these events
• Historians seek knowledge of the past using historical sources such as written documents, oral accounts, art and material artifacts, and ecological markers
• History is often divided into periods, such as ancient history, medieval history, and modern history

Law

• Law is a system of rules that are created and enforced through social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior
• It can be defined as "a system of rules recognized as regulating the actions of members of a community" or "the profession concerned with the observance of such rules"
• The study of law crosses the boundaries between social sciences and humanities, depending on one's view of research into its objectives and effects
• Legal systems vary between countries, with some of the main types including civil law, common law, and religious law

Linguistics

• Linguistics is the scientific study of language
• It involves analyzing language form, language meaning, and language in context
• Linguistics deals with a broad range of topics, including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, sociolinguistics, and historical linguistics
• Linguistics examines what constitutes a language; it explores language variation; it uncovers how language changes over time; it discovers how language is represented in the brain; and it explains how language is learned

Political science

• Political science is the study of politics and power from domestic, international, and comparative perspectives
• It entails understanding political ideas, ideologies, institutions, policies, processes, behavior, and culture, as well as analyzing these factors using qualitative and quantitative methods
• Political science includes subfields such as political theory, public policy, national politics, international relations, and comparative politics

Psychology

• Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior
• It is a broad discipline, encompassing many sub-fields of study such as human development, sports, health, clinical, social, and cognitive processes
• Psychology studies mental functions and behaviour, exploring the physiological and neurological processes that underlie cognitive functions and behaviors
• Psychologists are involved in research, practice, and teaching

Sociology

• Sociology is the study of society, social institutions, and social relationships
• It seeks to understand how societies are organized and how people interact with each other
• Sociology deals with topics such as social stratification, social mobility, religion, secularization, law, sexuality, gender, and deviance
• Sociological research uses a variety of techniques to study society including surveys, statistical data analysis, observation, in-depth interviews, analysis of documents and participant observation