A BRIEF INTRODUCTION
TO SOCIAL SCIENCE: A
course for physical scientists
John F. Weaver, CIRA/CSU
Lindsey K. Fast, Western State Colorado University
Dan Bikos, Olivia Vila, CIRA/CSU
Dan Lindsey, NOAA/NESDIS@CIRA
OVERVIEW
• Defining social science – What is it!?
-- How social scientists study people and populations
• Comparing physical and social science
-- Different focus variables
-- Different data collection methods
-- Different analysis techniques
-- Different sources of error
Defining Social Science
A branch of science that deals with:
1) understanding individual and societal behaviors
2) interpersonal relationships of individuals as members of society
• Communication (conveying information)
• Psychology (both individual and group behavior)
• Anthropology (for us cultural differences)
• Sociology (institutional characteristics)
• Economics (infrastructure cost-to-benefit)
Communications- a biggie
• Does your target audience hear you?
Target audiences might include individuals, the general
public, public officials, emergency responders, the media
•
Do they understand you?
•
Do you understand them?
•
Do they care?
Do they hear you?
•
Stationary: At work, at home, in a bar, shopping
•
In transit: In a car, a train, a bus, a motorcycle
•
Outdoors: Jogging, bicycling, shopping, mowing
the lawn, picking up the kids, sports
Do they understand you?
•
What is their knowledge-base?
•
Is there a problem with terminology?
•
Have you conveyed the threat?
•
Do they know what you expect them to do?
It’s a Two-way Street
Do you understand them?
•
How do people think about your topic?
•
Do you have preconceived ideas about their
motivations?
•
Also, we must never assume that because we have
seen people react in the past, we understand their
motivation and know how they will react in the future
Apathy, priorities & social factors
Do They Care?
• Previous experience plays a role
“It’s always hot in Phoenix” … “It always snows in Colorado” … “Lightning
has never scared me.”
• Life priorities play a role
“I’ve need to pick up the kids” … “I’ve got to get to my meeting”
• Social factors play a role
Groupthink, bandwagon effect, illusion of control, over-confidence, prefer
the status quo
COMPARING TWO SCIENCES
A look at the similarities and differences between
atmospheric and social science
FOCUS VARIABLES
Atmospheric Science
• Physical variables (temperature,
pressure, humidity, winds)
Social Science
• Human variables (attitudes, decision
processes, trauma, anxiety)
Focus Variables - Social Science
•
Individual behaviors and traits
•
Agreeability, resilience, intelligence, decisiveness, personality
•There are many pre-established tests available for individual traits
•
Individual within groups
•
How people act within various groups
• Family, friends, co-workers, social groups, etc.
• Cultural differences, socio-economic status, age, gender, etc.
•
Group dynamics - institutional
•Groups include organizations such as police officers, firefighters, schools
teachers/officials), and even National Weather Service forecasters.
•Differing missions, expectations, procedures, and prejudices
Data Collection Methods
Atmospheric Science
• Thermometers, hygrometers, RAOBS,
anemometers, satellites, radar
Social Science
• Surveys, field observations, computer
testing, some instrumentation
Analysis Techniques
Atmospheric Science
• Most processes of interest defined by the
so-called governing equations.
• Analysis based on principals of physics and
can be expressed as differential and
integral equations, vectors, etc.
Social Science
• Most processes of interest are statistically
distributed amongst populations.
• Analysis depends on statistical techniques for
qualitative and quantitative studies
Sources of Error
Atmospheric Science
Social Science
• Many processes not fully understood
• Many processes not fully understood
• Equations too complex to solve explicitly
• Human behavior too complex to define mathematically
• Initial observations may not be representative
• Difficult to obtain representative observations
• Dropping 2nd order terms might be a problem
• Confounding variables are a problem
• Parameterized processes (e.g., solar, clouds)
are a function of individual choices
• Biases (experimenter, selection, individual) can
introduce unexpected error
• Computer modeling problems (finite differencing
techniques, assumptions)
• Statistical analysis and regression techniques are not
exact and involve assumptions
Descriptive versus Experimental
Descriptive studies
• Interviews, questionnaires, natural observations
• Provide simple answers and/or correlations between variables
• Cannot establish cause-effect
Experimental studies
• Designed to establish cause-effect between various behaviors
• Works by creating manipulations within the study
• Question variation in a survey, different conditions in natural settings
Questions, Questions, Questions
… how social scientists carry out their work
Useful results depend on careful experimental design
• A Long list of potential biases can destroy results
• The proper formatting of questions is tricky
• Designs must always be done with analysis in mind
• Be mindful of your study’s limitations
Questions, Questions, Questions
… how social scientists carry out their work
Human biases can ruin an otherwise great study
• Sampling biases
• Self-reporting and volunteer biases
• Cultural biases
• Participant versus experimenter bias
• Extraneous variables
Formatting Questions –
more complicated than you think
• Use clear and unambiguous language
• Keep questions short and concise
• Don’t frame questions to get the answer you want
Loaded questions –
“How often do you ignore those irritating weather warnings?”
Leading questions –
“Should responsible people heed weather warnings?”
Formatting Questions – more to think about
• Vague questions -- Do you attend church regularly?
• Limited options – Is this product; excellent, very good, fair.
If you don’t want to hear the truth, why do the survey?
• Double barrel questions –
How satisfied are you with weather forecasts and severe weather warnings?
• The order you ask the questions can be important
Bethlehem & Jelke (2009), Applied Survey Methods, Wiley, p. 56
Questions, Questions, Questions
… a glance at how social scientists carry out their work
Make a statistical plan part of original design
• Type of study (correlation, comparing sample groups, etc.)?
• Questions that can be quantified and compared (Yes/no,
Likert scaling, equal number of multiple choices)
• Easily coded open-ended questions, if any
• Concise questions (more honest answers, less ambiguity)
• For psychological factors, need to use established measures
(e.g., resilience, anxiety, skepticism, etc.)
FINAL POINTS
Physical Scientists
Social Scientists
•
Many processes are not fully understood
•
Many processes are not fully understood
•
Study physical processes of nature
•
Study the behavior of individuals & groups
•
Instruments measure physical properties (e.g.,
•
Surveys, observations, or experiments measure
temperature, electromagnetic radiation, etc.)
•
Data analyzed using physical equations that
are not exact, too complex to solve explicitly
individual and group responses
•
Data analyzed using statistical equations that do
not yield exact answers
FINAL POINTS
Physical Scientists
Social Scientists
•
Error sources: observations not representative
•
Error sources – samples often not representative
•
Dropping 2nd order terms, a potential problem
•
Confounding variables are a problem
•
Parameterized processes (e.g., solar, clouds)
•
Personal biases (experimenter, selection, individual)
are a function of individual choices
are a function of individual choices
•
Computer modeling problems – simplifying
assumptions, finite differencing, etc.
•
Statistical analysis and regression techniques
involve assumptions, not designed to be exact
FINAL POINTS
• Both the physical and social sciences utilize the scientific method to
collect data and test hypotheses.
• Both physical and social science depend on rigorous adherence to the
scientific method
• Finally, we want to emphasize that social science can help physical
scientists carry out the parts of their job dealing with individuals, groups,
and members organizations
Much, Much More …
This course has been a very brief overview
• If you should have further interest:
→ Read some social science literature
→ Take a course in social science research methods
→ Watch for our course on designing a survey