PART III

KEY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NATURAL AND SOCIAL

SCIENCES

3.1 Introduction

Social science and natural science are two subjects that differ from each
other in the terms of their subject matters. Before identifying differences
between Natural Science and Social Science, the term Science has to be
defined. Science is the process of gaining knowledge through
experimentation. Also Science can be described as a methodology used to
understand our world.

Natural Science includes the subject such as Chemistry, Physics, Plant

science, Biology etc. Social Science covers subjects like Sociology,
Anthropology, Economics, Political Science, Geography, Management etc.
The primary difference is the subject matter. One studies "nature," another
studies people, social groups, etc. There is one big difference with natural
sciences they are objective. They only work with facts with sociology it really
is subjective. Also there are different Research methods.
3.2 Key Concepts/Views/Ideas

Natural science studies about nature, such as earth, mountains and streams,
stars, elements, atoms and molecules, gravitational and magnetic and
electrical force, light. Whereas social science studies human societies and, to
some degree, the artifacts and institutions that these societies produce and
through which they operate. Sciences like biology and psychology have both
natural-scientific and social-scientific components, since they deal with
human beings both as natural beings that is in terms of features that non-
human animals and non-living things have too. features like "having a
digestive system" and "being made of atoms" and social beings. Natural
sciences are sometimes called the hard sciences. These are subjects such as
chemistry, physics, astronomy, biology, earth science, atmospheric science,
materials science, and oceanography. These fields all study about the world
and how it works. Chemistry is the study of matter. When you study
chemistry, you learn about what makes up matter, atoms. You learn about
atomic structure and how molecules form and bond. You learn how matter
reacts and changes state. Earth science is the study of planet Earth. This
field studies soil, geology, minerals, rocks, precious stones, plate tectonics
and volcanoes, among other topics. Physics is the study of what composes
the universe and how the forces interact with matter and each other.
Astronomy is the study of the formation and development of the universe,
planets, comets, stars, galaxies, celestial mechanics, red shift, blue shift, and
everything else that happens in space. Biology is the study of living things.
How to bodies work? What's different between a plant and a animal. The
social sciences methodology starts with an assumption and is gradually
filled by a series of experiments and observations. The data collection
methods are often done by a variety of techniques like field observation,
interviews, and focus group discussions.
The experiments and the data collected done in social sciences denote
spontaneity and deal with emotions of the people involved.

Social sciences operate on an open system where uncontrollable variables

are expected. It is also considered as a cumulative science which is
characterized by progress as the study goes on. Social science is the field of
study concerned with society. The biggest difference for social sciences is,
however, that social sciences deal with people. "Social science" is commonly
used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural
sciences. Social Science fields of study usually have several sub-disciplines
or branches, and the distinguishing lines between these are often both
arbitrary and ambiguous. Under the natural sciences we study subjects like
Anthropology, Economics, Human Geography, Education, Linguistic etc. For
an example Economics is a social science that seeks to analyze and describe
the production, distribution, and consumption of wealth. Anthropology deals
with how people interact with other people and how our cultures work.
Archaeology studies remnants of buried civilizations. Economics is the study
of money, the production of goods, and the distribution of those goods.
Human geography studies how humans are distributed on the earth and how
we change and manage the earth. Education can be a science too. People
study which methods are best for learning. History is the study of the past.
Since history requires the written records and anything before then is
prehistory, history is also the study of people-people of the past. Linguistics
is the study of human language. It raises questions like How did language
develop? When do kids learn to speak? How do we learn multiple languages?
How are the sounds and syntax different between languages? How does
language evolve over time? Political science deals with politics. Politics
concerns itself about how stuff is distributed among people. Psychology is
the study of our brains. It raises questions like How do we think? What can go
wrong with the brain? How can we fix our thoughts and behaviors? Sociology
is the study of our societies and how people relate and interact with each
other. Sociologists asks questions like how do humans behave in society?

The basis of the natural sciences is the experimental data. Experimental data
relies on repeated experiments, laboratory testing, and constant
reproductions of results. The methodology of natural or physical science is
often characterized as fixed and straightforward with the constant element of
standard measurements. The methodology also employs experiments. Data
from these experiments often represent predictability and rationality.

Physical and natural science works in a closed system where variables can
be controlled, and the work is executed within a particular framework or
paradigm. The basis of social sciences is the experiential data. Experiential
data tries to establish social phenomena and are not easily reproduced in a
laboratory or in any experiment. So, again, the natural sciences deal with the
study of the universe and the earth. Social sciences deal with people. These
debates also rage within contemporary social sciences with regard to
subjectivity, objectivity, and practicality in the conduct of theory and
research. Philosophers of social science examine further epistemologies and
methodologies, including positivism, post-positivism (phenomenology),
critical theory like Feminists, Postmodernists.

Philosophers of social science are concerned with the differences and

similarities between the social and the natural sciences. Science appeared to
be capable of producing objective knowledge that could be used to solve
human problems and increase human productive capacity. Many early social
scientists chose to turn to natural science for a methodology on which to
base their subject. But social researchers studying human behavior is
fundamentally different from studying the natural world. Unlike the subject
matter natural sciences, people possess consciousness, which means it
requires a different type of methodology

3.3 Conclusion

Major difference between the Natural Sciences and Social Sciences is the
subject matter. Natural Science is about the nature and Social Science is
about humans. There are many varieties of subjects in both Natural Sciences
and Social Sciences. Natural Science mostly involves Lab Experiments and
Social Science involves hypothesis and evaluation of the same. As the
studies of Natural Science is done using scientific formulas and theories it
tends to be more accurate than that experiments of Social Sciences as their
experiments are totally based on participation of a group of humans in
interviews, group discussions etc.

References
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-social-science-and-
natural-science

http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-social-science-and-vs-
natural-science/