HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to social science:
Social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...
– main branch of
science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
comprising scientific fields concerned with
societies A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. ...
,
human behaviour Human behavior is the potential and expressed capacity ( mentally, physically, and socially) of human individuals or groups to respond to internal and external stimuli throughout their life. Behavior is driven by genetic and environmental ...
, and
social relationship A social relation is the fundamental unit of analysis within the social sciences, and describes any voluntary or involuntary interpersonal relationship between two or more conspecifics within and/or between groups. The group can be a language or ...
s.


Definition

Social science can be described as all of the following: * A
science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
– systematic enterprise that builds and organizes
knowledge Knowledge is an Declarative knowledge, awareness of facts, a Knowledge by acquaintance, familiarity with individuals and situations, or a Procedural knowledge, practical skill. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is oft ...
in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the
universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents. It comprises all of existence, any fundamental interaction, physical process and physical constant, and therefore all forms of matter and energy, and the structures they form, from s ...
."... 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 a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
; 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, (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 or academic field is a subdivision of knowledge that is taught and researched at the college or university level. Disciplines are defined (in part) and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, a ...
– 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 Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...
- 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 Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...
and the natural sciences. ** Anthropology of religion – the study of religious institutions about other social institutions, and the comparison of religious beliefs and practices across cultures ** Applied anthropology – application of the method and theory of anthropology to the analysis and solution of practical problems. **
Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
– 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 term ...
– 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 multidisciplinary field of study of relationships among peoples, biota, and environments integrating many perspectives, from the social, biological, and medical sciences; along with application to conservation and sustain ...
– the scientific study of dynamic relationships between peoples, biota, and environments, from the distant past to the immediate present. **
Ethnobotany Ethnobotany is an interdisciplinary field at the interface of natural and social sciences that studies the relationships between humans and plants. It focuses on traditional knowledge of how plants are used, managed, and perceived in human socie ...
– is the study of a region's plants and their practical uses through the traditional knowledge of local culture and people. **
Ethnography Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...
– the systematic study of people and cultures. **
Ethnology Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). Sci ...
– 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 Ethnopoetics is a 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 ...
– 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 Evolutionary anthropology, the interdisciplinary study of the human evolution, evolution of human physiology and human behaviour and of the relation between hominids and non-hominid primates, builds on natural science and on social science. Vari ...
– 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 (also called experiment archaeology) is a field of study which attempts to generate and test archaeological Hypothesis, hypotheses, usually by replicating or approximating the feasibility of ancient cultures performing v ...
– 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 Historical archaeology is a form of archaeology dealing with places, things, and issues from the past or present when written records and oral traditions can inform and contextualize cultural material. These records can both complement and conflic ...
– a form of archaeology dealing with topics that are already attested in written records. **
Linguistic anthropology Linguistic anthropology is the interdisciplinary study of how language influences social life. It is a branch of anthropology that originated from the endeavor to document endangered languages and has grown over the past century to encompass mo ...
– is the interdisciplinary study of how language influences social life. **
Medical anthropology Medical anthropology studies "human health and disease, health care systems, and biocultural adaptation". It views humans from multidimensional and ecological perspectives. It is one of the most highly developed areas of anthropology and appli ...
– 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 natural science discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings, their extinct hominin ancestors, and related non-human primates, particularly from ...
– the study of the physical development of the human species. ** Psychological anthropology – interdisciplinary subfield of anthropology that studies the interaction of cultural and mental processes. ** Zooarchaeology – study of faunal remains. **
Anthrozoology Anthrozoology, also known as human–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 disciplin ...
– study of human-animal interaction. *
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 manageme ...
– an academic area that consists of many sub-areas about the social relationships that compose the human economic systems. **
Accountancy Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activities and conveys ...
– the measurement, processing and communication of financial information about economic entities. **
Finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...
– a field dealing with the study of investments. **
Commerce Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...
**
Management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...
– the administration of an organization, whether it be a business, a not-for-profit organization, or government body. ***
Human resource management Human resource management (HRM) is the strategic and coherent approach to the effective and efficient management of people in a company or organization such that they help their business gain a competitive advantage. It is designed to maximize e ...
– a function in organizations designed to maximize employee performance in service of an employer's strategic objectives. **
Marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...
– the study and management of exchange relationships. **
Organizational studies Organization studies (also called organization science or organizational studies) is the academic field interested in a ''collective activity, and how it relates to organization, organizing, and management''. It is "the examination of how individ ...
– 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. **
Operations research Operations research () (U.S. Air Force Specialty Code: Operations Analysis), often shortened to the initialism OR, is a branch of applied mathematics that deals with the development and application of analytical methods to improve management and ...
– *
Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
– analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. It aims to explain how economies work and how economic agents interact. **
International economics International economics is concerned with the effects upon economic activity from international differences in productive resources and consumer preferences and the international institutions that affect them. It seeks to explain the patterns an ...
– study of the effects upon economic activity of international differences in productive resources and consumer preferences and the institutions that affect them. **
Economic methodology Economic methodology is the study of methods, especially the scientific method, in relation to economics, including principles underlying economic reasoning. In contemporary English, 'methodology' may reference theoretical or systematic aspe ...
– the study of methods, especially the scientific method, about economics, including principles underlying economic reasoning. ***
Behavioural economics Behavioral economics is the study of the psychological (e.g. cognitive, behavioral, affective, social) factors involved in the decisions of individuals or institutions, and how these decisions deviate from those implied by traditional economi ...
– the study of the effects of social,
cognitive Cognition is the "mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...
, and
psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
factors on economic decisions. ***
Mathematical economics Mathematical economics is the application of Mathematics, mathematical methods to represent theories and analyze problems in economics. Often, these Applied mathematics#Economics, applied methods are beyond simple geometry, and may include diff ...
– application of mathematical methods to represent economic theories and analyze problems posed in economics. ***
Computational economics Computational economics is an interdisciplinary research discipline that combines methods in computational science and economics to solve complex economic problems.''Computational Economics''."About This Journal"an"Aims and Scope" This subject e ...
– research discipline at the interface between computer science and economic and management science. ***
Econometrics Econometrics is an application of statistical methods to economic data in order to give empirical content to economic relationships. M. Hashem Pesaran (1987). "Econometrics", '' The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics'', v. 2, p. 8 p. 8 ...
– study of
statistical Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a s ...
methods for dealing with economic data ***
Experimental economics Experimental economics is the application of experimental methods to study economic questions. Data collected in experiments are used to estimate effect size, test the validity of economic theories, and illuminate market mechanisms. Economic expe ...
– application of experimental methods to study economic questions **
Microeconomics Microeconomics is a branch of economics that studies the behavior of individuals and Theory of the firm, firms in making decisions regarding the allocation of scarcity, scarce resources and the interactions among these individuals and firms. M ...
or price theory – branch of economics that studies the behaviour of individual households and firms in making decisions on the allocation of limited resources ***
Consumer choice The theory of consumer choice is the branch of microeconomics that relates preferences to consumption expenditures and to consumer demand curves. It analyzes how consumers maximize the desirability of their consumption (as measured by their pr ...
– study of consumers' behaviour ***
Theory of the firm The theory of the firm consists of a number of economic theories that explain and predict the nature of the firm, company, or corporation, including its existence, behaviour, structure, and relationship to the market. Firms are key drivers in eco ...
– study of firms' behaviour ***
Family economics Family economics applies economic concepts such as production, division of labor, distribution of wealth, distribution, and decision making to the family. It is used to explain outcomes unique to family—such as marriage, the decision to hav ...
– study of family behaviours such as marriage through an economic lens **
Macroeconomics Macroeconomics is a branch of economics that deals with the performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of an economy as a whole. This includes regional, national, and global economies. Macroeconomists study topics such as output (econ ...
– branch of economics dealing with the performance, structure, behaviour, and decision-making of the whole economy ***
Monetary economics Monetary economics is the branch of economics that studies the different theories of money: it provides a framework for analyzing money and considers its functions (as medium of exchange, store of value, and unit of account), and it considers how m ...
– branch of economics that historically prefigured and remains integrally linked to macroeconomics. **
Financial economics Financial economics is the branch of economics characterized by a "concentration on monetary activities", in which "money of one type or another is likely to appear on ''both sides'' of a trade".William F. Sharpe"Financial Economics", in Its co ...
– branch of economics concerned with "the allocation and deployment of economic resources, both spatially and across time, in an uncertain environment". **
Public economics Public economics ''(or economics of the public sector)'' is the study of government policy through the lens of economic efficiency and Equity (economics), equity. Public economics builds on the theory of welfare economics and is ultimately used as ...
– the study of government policy through the lens of economic efficiency and equity. ***
Public finance Public finance refers to the monetary resources available to governments and also to the study of finance within government and role of the government in the economy. Within academic settings, public finance is a widely studied subject in man ...
– the study of the role of the government in the economy. **
Welfare economics Welfare economics is a field of economics that applies microeconomic techniques to evaluate the overall well-being (welfare) of a society. The principles of welfare economics are often used to inform public economics, which focuses on the ...
– branch of economics that studies economic evaluate
well-being Well-being is what is Intrinsic value (ethics), ultimately good for a person. Also called "welfare" and "quality of life", it is a measure of how well life is going for someone. It is a central goal of many individual and societal endeavors. ...
***
Social choice theory Social choice theory is a branch of welfare economics that extends the Decision theory, theory of rational choice to collective decision-making. Social choice studies the behavior of different mathematical procedures (social welfare function, soc ...
– the branch of economics that studies voting rules and collective decision-making **
Economic geography Economic geography is the subfield of human geography that studies economic activity and factors affecting it. It can also be considered a subfield or method in economics. Economic geography takes a variety of approaches to many different topi ...
– the study of the location, distribution and spatial organization of economic activities across the world. **
Labor economics Labour economics seeks to understand the functioning and dynamics of the markets for wage labour. Labour is a commodity that is supplied by labourers, usually in exchange for a wage paid by demanding firms. Because these labourers exist as pa ...
– seeks to understand the functioning and dynamics of the markets for labour. **
Demographic economics Demographic economics or population economics is the application of economic analysis to demography, the study of human populations, including size, growth, density, distribution, and vital statistics. Aspects Aspects of the subject include: ...
– application of economic methodology to
demography Demography () is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analysis examine ...
**
Law and Economics Law and economics, or economic analysis of law, is the application of microeconomic theory to the analysis of law. The field emerged in the United States during the early 1960s, primarily from the work of scholars from the Chicago school of econ ...
– application of economic methods to the analysis of law. **
Industrial organization In economics, industrial organization is a field that builds on the theory of the firm by examining the structure of (and, therefore, the boundaries between) firms and markets. Industrial organization adds real-world complications to the per ...
– field of economics that builds on the
theory of the firm The theory of the firm consists of a number of economic theories that explain and predict the nature of the firm, company, or corporation, including its existence, behaviour, structure, and relationship to the market. Firms are key drivers in eco ...
in examining the structure of, and boundaries between, firms and markets. **
Business economics Business economics is a field in applied economics which uses economic theory and quantitative methods to analyze business enterprises and the factors contributing to the diversity of organizational structures and the relationships of firms wit ...
– economic study of business *** Entrepreneurial Economics – the study of the entrepreneur and entrepreneurship within the economy. ***
Managerial economics Managerial economics is a branch of economics involving the application of economic methods in the organizational decision-making process.* * * Economics is the study of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Manag ...
– application of economic concepts and economic analysis to the problems of formulating rational managerial decisions. **
Economic history Economic history is the study of history using methodological tools from economics or with a special attention to economic phenomena. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the Applied economics ...
– study of economies or economic phenomena in the past. **
Development economics Development economics is a branch of economics that deals with economic aspects of the development process in low- and middle- income countries. Its focus is not only on methods of promoting economic development, economic growth and structural c ...
– branch of economics which deals with economic aspects of the development process in low-income countries. **
Political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...
– 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. *** Comparative economicscomparative study of different systems of economic organization, such as
capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
,
socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
,
feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...
and the
mixed economy A mixed economy is an economic system that includes both elements associated with capitalism, such as private businesses, and with socialism, such as nationalized government services. More specifically, a mixed economy may be variously de ...
. ***
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 institutions in shaping economic behaviour. **
Economic sociology Economic sociology is the study of the social cause and effect of various economic phenomena. The field can be broadly divided into a classical period and a contemporary one, known as "new economic sociology". The classical period was concerned ...
– studies both the social effects and the social causes of various economic phenomena. **
Environmental economics Environmental economics is a sub-field of economics concerned with environmental issues. It has become a widely studied subject due to growing environmental concerns in the twenty-first century. Environmental economics "undertakes theoretical ...
– subfield of economics concerned with environmental issues. ***
Resource economics Natural resource economics deals with the Supply (economics), supply, Demand (economics), demand, and Resource allocation, allocation of the Earth's natural resources. One main objective of natural resource economics is to better understand th ...
– the study of supply, demand, and allocation of the Earth's natural resources. ***
Energy economics Energy economics is a broad scientific subject area which includes topics related to supply and use of energy in societies. Considering the cost of energy services and associated value gives economic meaning to the efficiency at which energy ...
– broad scientific subject area which includes topics related to supply and use of energy in societies **
Socioeconomics Economic sociology is the study of the social cause and effect of various economic phenomena. The field can be broadly divided into a classical period and a contemporary one, known as "new economic sociology". The classical period was concerned ...
– considers behavioural interactions of individuals and groups through social capital and social "markets" and the formation of social norms **
Economic geography Economic geography is the subfield of human geography that studies economic activity and factors affecting it. It can also be considered a subfield or method in economics. Economic geography takes a variety of approaches to many different topi ...
– the subfield of
human geography Human geography or anthropogeography is the branch of geography which studies spatial relationships between human communities, cultures, economies, and their interactions with the environment, examples of which include urban sprawl and urban ...
that studies economic activity and factors affecting it. ***
Transport economics Transport economics is a branch of economics founded in 1959 by American economist John R. Meyer that deals with the resource allocation, allocation of resources within the transport sector. It has strong links to civil engineering. Transport ec ...
– branch of economics that deals with the allocation of resources within the transport sector and has strong linkages with civil engineering. ***
Real estate economics Real estate economics is the application of economic techniques to real estate markets. It aims to describe and predict economic patterns of supply and demand. The closely related field of housing economics is narrower in scope, concentrating on ...
– application of economic techniques to real estate markets. *
Cognitive science Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary, scientific study of the mind and its processes. It examines the nature, the tasks, and the functions of cognition (in a broad sense). Mental faculties of concern to cognitive scientists include percep ...
– 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 academic field that explores the dynamics of contemporary culture (including the politics of popular culture) and its social and historical foundations. Cultural studies researchers investigate how cultural practices rel ...
– academic field grounded in critical theory and literary criticism. *
Development studies Development studies is an interdisciplinary branch of social science. Development studies is offered as a specialized master's degree in a number of reputed universities around the world. It has grown in popularity as a subject of study since the ...
– a multidisciplinary branch of social science that addresses issues of concern to developing countries. *
Education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
– 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 (EVS or EVST) is a multidisciplinary academic field which systematically studies human behavior, human interaction with the Natural environment, environment. Environmental studies connects principles from the physical sci ...
– the interdisciplinary academic field which systematically studies human interaction with the environment. *
Gender and sexuality studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary discipline (academia), academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation (politics), representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's ...
– field of interdisciplinary study and academic field devoted to gender identity and gendered representation as central categories of analysis. *
Geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
– the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. **
Physical geography Physical geography (also known as physiography) is one of the three main branches of geography. Physical geography is the branch of natural science which deals with the processes and patterns in the natural environment such as the atmosphere, h ...
– a branch of the science that studies physical features on the Earth's surface, water, the atmosphere and biodiversity on the Earth (is also listed in
Earth Science Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres ...
). ***
Geomorphology Geomorphology () is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features generated by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or near Earth's surface. Geomorphologists seek to understand wh ...
– branch of physical geography that studies the Earth and its landforms. ***
Hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and drainage basin sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is called a hydro ...
– study of water on the Earth's surface and in its atmosphere. ***
Glaciology Glaciology (; ) is the scientific study of glaciers, or, more generally, ice and natural phenomena that involve ice. Glaciology is an interdisciplinary Earth science that integrates geophysics, geology, physical geography, geomorphology, clim ...
– study of ice sheets and glaciers on the Earth's surface. ***
Biogeography Biogeography is the study of the species distribution, distribution of species and ecosystems in geography, geographic space and through evolutionary history of life, geological time. Organisms and biological community (ecology), communities o ...
– study of the distribution of living organisms on the Earth. ***
Climatology Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "slope"; and , '' -logia'') or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. Climate concerns the atmospher ...
– the study of climate. ***
Meteorology Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agricultur ...
– the study of weather. *** Soil geography – the study of soil. ***
Oceanography Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of to ...
– 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 Landscape ecology is the science of studying and improving relationships between ecological processes in the environment and particular ecosystems. This is done within a variety of landscape scales, development spatial patterns, and organizatio ...
– the study of effects of the ecological process on the Earth. ***
Palaeogeography Palaeogeography (or paleogeography) is the study of historical geography, generally physical landscapes. Palaeogeography can also include the study of human or cultural environments. When the focus is specifically on landforms, the term pale ...
– studies distribution of continents and oceans over time. *** Environmental geography – studies the interaction between humans and the physical environment. **
Cartography Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...
– study and practice of making maps or globes. **
Human geography Human geography or anthropogeography is the branch of geography which studies spatial relationships between human communities, cultures, economies, and their interactions with the environment, examples of which include urban sprawl and urban ...
– 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 Cultural geography is a subfield within human geography. Though the first traces of the study of different nations and cultures on Earth can be dated back to ancient geographers such as Ptolemy or Strabo, cultural geography as academic study fir ...
– the study of cultural products and norms and their variations across and relations to spaces and places. *** Feminist geography – 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 Economic geography is the subfield of human geography that studies economic activity and factors affecting it. It can also be considered a subfield or method in economics. Economic geography takes a variety of approaches to many different topi ...
– study of the location, distribution and spatial organization of economic activities across the world. *** Development geography – branch of geography concerning the standard of living and quality of life of its human inhabitants. ***
Historical geography Historical geography is the branch of geography that studies the ways in which geographic phenomena have changed over time. In its modern form, it is a synthesizing discipline which shares both topical and methodological similarities with histor ...
– study of the human, physical, fictional, theoretical, and "real" geographies of the past. ***
Time geography Time geography or time-space geography is an evolving transdisciplinary perspective on spatial and temporal processes and events such as social interaction, ecological interaction, social and environmental change, and biographies of individuals. ...
– ***
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, ...
&
geopolitics Geopolitics () is the study of the effects of Earth's geography on politics and international relations. Geopolitics usually refers to countries and relations between them, it may also focus on two other kinds of State (polity), states: ''de fac ...
– 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 Marxist geography is a strand of critical geography that uses the theories and philosophy of Marxism to examine the spatial relations of human geography. In Marxist geography, the relations that geography has traditionally analyzed — natural ...
– strand of critical geography that uses the theories and philosophy of Marxism to examine the spatial relations of human geography. ***
Military geography Military geography is a sub-field of geography that is used by the military, as well as academics and politicians, to understand the geopolitics, geopolitical sphere through the military lens. To accomplish these ends, military geographers consi ...
– 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 is the study of the distribution, composition, migration, and growth of human populations in relation to the geographic characteristics of specific area. It focuses on how populations are distributed across space, the facto ...
– 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 phenome ...
– 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 Children's geographies is an area of study within human geography and childhood studies which involves researching the places and spaces of children's lives. Context Children's geographies is the branch of human geography which deals with the stu ...
– area of study within human geography and Childhood Studies which involves researching the places and spaces of children's lives. ***
Health geography Health geography is the application of geographical information, perspectives, and methods to the study of health, disease, and health care. Medical geography, a sub-discipline of, or sister field of health geography, Oxford Bibliographies entry ...
– 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 Urban geography is the subdiscipline of geography that derives from a study of cities and urban processes. Urban geographers and urbanists examine various aspects of urban life and the built environment. Scholars, activists, and the public have ...
– 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 one of the major traditions 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 geo ...
– the study of world regions. *
History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
– 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 Industrial relations or employment relations is the multidisciplinary academic field that studies the employment relationship; that is, the complex interrelations between employers and employees, labor union, labor/trade unions, employer organ ...
– 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 International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...
– the study of the major political, economic, social, cultural and sacral issues that dominate the international agenda *
Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...
– set of rules and principles (laws) by which a society is governed, through enforcement by governmental authorities. * Legal management – 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 – 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 Library and information science (LIS)Library and Information Sciences is the name used in the Dewey Decimal Classification for class 20 from the 18th edition (1971) to the 22nd edition (2003). are two interconnected disciplines that deal with info ...
– the study of issues related to libraries and the information fields. *
Linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
– 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. Whi ...
– the study of the relations between language and culture and the relations between human biology, cognition and language. **
Applied linguistics Applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field which identifies, investigates, and offers solutions to language-related real-life problems. Some of the academic fields related to applied linguistics are education, psychology, Communication stu ...
– an interdisciplinary field of study that identifies, investigates, and offers solutions to language-related real-life problems. **
Biolinguistics Biolinguistics can be defined as the Biology, biological and Evolutionary linguistics, evolutionary study of language. It is highly interdisciplinary as it draws from various fields such as sociobiology, linguistics, psychology, anthropology, math ...
– study of the biology and evolution of language. **
Clinical linguistics Clinical linguistics is a sub-discipline of applied linguistics involved in the description, analysis, and treatment of language disabilities, especially the application of linguistic theory to the field of Speech-Language Pathology. The study of ...
and
speech and language pathology Speech is the use of the human voice as a medium for language. Spoken language combines vowel and consonant sounds to form units of meaning like words, which belong to a language's lexicon. There are many different intentional speech acts, suc ...
– a sub-discipline of linguistics that involves the application of linguistic theory to the field of Speech-Language Pathology. **
Cognitive linguistics Cognitive linguistics is an interdisciplinary branch of linguistics, combining knowledge and research from cognitive science, cognitive psychology, neuropsychology and linguistics. Models and theoretical accounts of cognitive linguistics are cons ...
– 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 is a branch of historical linguistics that is concerned with comparing languages to establish their historical relatedness. Genetic relatedness implies a common origin or proto-language and comparative linguistics aim ...
– the branch of historical linguistics that is concerned with comparing languages to establish their historical relatedness. **
Computational linguistics Computational linguistics is an interdisciplinary field concerned with the computational modelling of natural language, as well as the study of appropriate computational approaches to linguistic questions. In general, computational linguistics ...
– interdisciplinary field dealing with the statistical or rule-based modelling of natural language from a computational perspective. **
Developmental linguistics Developmental linguistics is the study of the development of linguistic ability in an individual, particularly the acquisition of language in childhood. It involves research into the different stages in language acquisition, language retention, and ...
– 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, it is how human beings gain the ability to be aware of language, to understand it, and to produce and use words and s ...
– the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language, as well as to produce and use words to communicate. **
Dialectology Dialectology (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ''dialektos'', "talk, dialect"; and , ''-logy, -logia'') is the scientific study of dialects: subsets of languages. Though in the 19th century a branch of historical linguistics, dialectology is often now c ...
– 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 Discourse analysis (DA), or discourse studies, is an approach to the analysis of written, spoken, or sign language, including any significant semiotic event. The objects of discourse analysis (discourse, writing, conversation, communicative sy ...
– a general term for several approaches to analyzing the use of written, oral or sign language or any significant semiotic event. **
Etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...
– the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time. **
Evolutionary linguistics Evolutionary linguistics or Darwinian linguistics is a sociobiological approach to the study of language. Evolutionary linguists consider linguistics as a subfield of sociobiology and evolutionary psychology. The approach is also closely linke ...
– 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, geol ...
– branch of human geography that studies the geographic distribution of language or its constituent elements. **
Historical linguistics Historical linguistics, also known as diachronic linguistics, is the scientific study of how languages change over time. It seeks to understand the nature and causes of linguistic change and to trace the evolution of languages. Historical li ...
– the study of language change. **
Language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...
– is a
structured Structuring, also known as smurfing in banking jargon, is the practice of executing financial transactions such as making bank deposits in a specific pattern, calculated to avoid triggering financial institutions to file reports required by law ...
means of
communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...
** Lexis – 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 Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...
– 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. **
Mathematical linguistics Mathematical linguistics is the application of mathematics to model phenomena and solve problems in general linguistics and theoretical linguistics. Mathematical linguistics has a significant amount of overlap with computational linguistic ...
– Mathematics has been applied in linguistics for analysis, grammar logic and other theoretical aspects in linguistics. **
Morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...
– 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 Nervous system, neural mechanisms in the human brain that control the comprehension, production, and acquisition of language. As an interdisciplinary field, neurolinguistics draws methods and theories from fie ...
– the study of the neural mechanisms in the human brain that control the comprehension, production, and acquisition of language. **
Philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...
– the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics. **
Phonetics Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds or, in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians ...
– a branch of linguistics that consists of the study of the sounds of human speech, or the equivalent aspects of sign. **
Phonology Phonology (formerly also phonemics or phonematics: "phonemics ''n.'' 'obsolescent''1. Any procedure for identifying the phonemes of a language from a corpus of data. 2. (formerly also phonematics) A former synonym for phonology, often pre ...
– the branch of linguistics concerned with the systematic organization of sounds in languages. **
Phraseology In linguistics, phraseology is the study of 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 component parts of the expression tak ...
– 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 In linguistics and the philosophy of language, pragmatics is the study of how Context (linguistics), context contributes to meaning. The field of study evaluates how human language is utilized in social interactions, as well as the relationship ...
– 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, scientific study of how language is shaped by, and used differently within, any given society. The field largely looks at how a language changes between distinct social groups, as well as how it varies unde ...
– 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. Speech production The pro ...
– 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, but particularly literary texts, and spoken language with regard to their linguistic and tonal style, where style is the particular variety of l ...
– 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 (constituenc ...
– "the study of the principles and processes by which sentences are constructed in particular languages." **
Semantics Semantics is the study of linguistic Meaning (philosophy), meaning. It examines what meaning is, how words get their meaning, and how the meaning of a complex expression depends on its parts. Part of this process involves the distinction betwee ...
– the study of meaning. **
Writing systems A writing system comprises a set of symbols, called a ''script'', as well as the rules by which the script represents a particular language. The earliest writing appeared during the late 4th millennium BC. Throughout history, each independe ...
and
orthography An orthography is a set of convention (norm), conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, punctuation, Word#Word boundaries, word boundaries, capitalization, hyphenation, and Emphasis (typography), emphasis. Most national ...
– representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols (known as a writing system). *
Management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...
– 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 it mos ...
– 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 differ ...
– an academic field that deals with processes of human communication, commonly defined as the sharing of symbols to create meaning. *
Political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
– social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government, and politics. **
Civics In the field of political science, civics is the study of the civil and political rights and obligations of citizens in a society. The term ''civics'' derives from the Latin word ''civicus'', meaning "relating to a citizen". In U.S. politics ...
– 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 Comparative politics is a field in political science characterized either by the use of the '' comparative method'' or other empirical methods to explore politics both within and between countries. Substantively, this can include questions relat ...
– 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. It has applications in many fields of social science, and is used extensively in economics, logic, systems science and computer science. Initially, game theory addressed ...
– the study of strategic decision making. **
Geopolitics Geopolitics () is the study of the effects of Earth's geography on politics and international relations. Geopolitics usually refers to countries and relations between them, it may also focus on two other kinds of State (polity), states: ''de fac ...
– 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, ...
– 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 An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...
– a set of ideas that constitute one's goals, expectations, and actions. **
Political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...
– 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 ''Political Psychology'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published bimonthly by Wiley on behalf of the International Society of Political Psychology. The editors-in-chief are Orla Muldoon of the University of Limerick, Ireland and James Liu ...
– bureaucratic, administrative and judicial behaviour **
Psephology Psephology (; from Greek ) is the study of elections and voting. Psephology attempts to both forecast and explain election results. The term is more common in Britain and in those English-speaking communities that rely heavily on the British st ...
– the branch of political science which deals with the study and scientific analysis of elections. **
Voting systems An electoral or voting system is a set of rules used to determine the results of an election. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political elections may take place in business, nonprofit organizations and inf ...
– methods by which voters choose between options, often in an election or on a policy referendum. **
Public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...
– houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. ***
Public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a Group decision-making, decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to Problem solving, solve or address relevant and problematic social issues, guided by a conceptio ...
– 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 Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...
– 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, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...
– 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 behaviors and outcomes in international politics. The three most prominent School of thought, schools of thought are ...
– the study of international relations from a theoretical perspective; it attempts to provide a conceptual framework upon which international relations can be analyzed. **
Science diplomacy Science diplomacy describes how scientific exchanges and the cross-border collaboration of scientists or scientific organizations can perform diplomatic functions in the context of international relations. Most often this diplomacy happens as part o ...
*
Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
– the science of behaviour and mental processes **
Abnormal psychology Abnormal psychology is the branch of psychology that studies unusual patterns of behavior, emotion, and thought, which could possibly be understood as a mental disorder. Although many behaviors could be considered as abnormal, this branch of ps ...
- the study of unusual behaviour, emotion, and thought in an individual, likely of that as a mental disorder. **
Applied psychology Applied psychology is the use of psychological methods and findings of scientific psychology to solve practical problems of human and animal behavior and experience. Educational and organizational psychology, business management, law, health, pro ...
– 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 Psychological testing refers to the administration of psychological tests. Psychological tests are administered or scored by trained evaluators. A person's responses are evaluated according to carefully prescribed guidelines. Scores are thought t ...
– 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 human science, behavioral science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well ...
– 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 Community psychology is concerned with the community as the unit of study. This contrasts with most psychology, which focuses on the individual. Community psychology also studies the community as a context for the individuals within it,Jim Orf ...
– Sense of community Social capital ***
Consumer behaviour Consumer behaviour is the study of individuals, groups, or organisations and all activities associated with the Purchasing, purchase, Utility, use and disposal of goods and services. It encompasses how the consumer's emotions, Attitude (psy ...
– study of when, why, how, and where people do or do not buy a product. ***
Counseling psychology Counseling or Counselling psychology is an international discipline. It is practiced in the United States and Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, Hong Kong and Korea, and South Africa. Counseling psychology in th ...
– 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 Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning. The study of learning processes, from both cognitive psychology, cognitive and behavioral psychology, behavioral perspectives, allows researc ...
– 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 Forensic psychology is the application of scientific knowledge and methods (in relation to psychology) to assist in answering legal questions that may arise in criminal, civil, contractual, or other judicial proceedings. Forensic psychology includes ...
– the intersection between psychology and the courtroom—criminal, civil, family and Federal. ***
Health psychology Health psychology is the study of psychological and behavioral processes in health, illness, and healthcare. The discipline is concerned with understanding how psychological, behavioral, and cultural factors contribute to physical health and il ...
– concerned with understanding how biological, psychological, environmental, and cultural factors are involved in physical health and illness. ***
Industrial and organizational psychology Industrial and organizational psychology (I-O psychology) "focuses the lens of psychological science on a key aspect of human life, namely, their work lives. In general, the goals of I-O psychology are to better understand and optimize the effec ...
– the scientific study of employees, workplaces, and organizations. ***
Legal psychology Legal psychology is a field focused on the application of psychological principles within the legal system and its interactions with individuals. Professionals in this area are involved in understanding, assessing, evaluating potential jurors, ...
– involves empirical, psychological research of the law, legal institutions, and people who come into contact with the law. ***
Media psychology Media psychology is a branch of psychology that focuses on the interactions between human behavior, media, and technology. Media psychology is not limited to mass media or media content; it includes all forms of mediated communication and media t ...
– 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 ''Political Psychology'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published bimonthly by Wiley on behalf of the International Society of Political Psychology. The editors-in-chief are Orla Muldoon of the University of Limerick, Ireland and James Liu ...
– 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 psychological methods and interpretive frameworks to the diverse contents of religious traditions as well as to both religious and irreligious individuals. The various methods and frameworks ...
– application of psychological methods and interpretive frameworks to religious traditions, as well as to both religious and irreligious individuals. ***
Psychometrics Psychometrics is a field of study within psychology concerned with the theory and technique of measurement. Psychometrics generally covers specialized fields within psychology and education devoted to testing, measurement, assessment, and rela ...
– 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 School psychology is a field that applies principles from educational psychology, developmental psychology, clinical psychology, community psychology, and behavior analysis to meet the learning and behavioral health needs of children and ado ...
– 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 is defined as the study of the psychological basis, processes, and effects of sport. One definition of sport sees it as "any physical activity for the purposes of competition, recreation, education or health". Sport psychology i ...
– interdisciplinary science that draws on knowledge from the fields of Kinesiology and Psychology. ***
Systems psychology Systems psychology is a branch of both theoretical psychology and applied psychology that studies human behaviour and experience as complex systems. It is inspired by systems theory and systems thinking, and based on the theoretical work of Roger ...
– the branch of applied psychology that studies human behaviour and experience in complex systems. *** Traffic psychology – 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 ** Behaviour 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 Behavioral neuroscience, also known as biological psychology, biopsychology, or psychobiology,Psychobi ...
– 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 human science, behavioral science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well ...
– 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 human 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, whi ...
– subdiscipline of psychology exploring internal mental processes. **
Cultural psychology Cultural psychology is the study of how cultures reflect and shape their members' psychological processes.Heine, S. J. (2011). ''Cultural Psychology. ''New York: W. W. Norton & Company. It is based on the premise that the mind and culture are ins ...
– 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 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 development ...
– the scientific study of systematic psychological changes, emotional changes, and perception changes that occur in human beings throughout their life span. **
Educational psychology Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning. The study of learning processes, from both cognitive psychology, cognitive and behavioral psychology, behavioral perspectives, allows researc ...
– 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 Evolutionary psychology is a theoretical approach in psychology that examines cognition and behavior from a modern evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify human psychological adaptations with regard to the ancestral problems they evolved ...
– 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 is the work done by those who apply Experiment, experimental methods to psychological study and the underlying processes. Experimental psychologists employ Research participant, human participants and Animal testing, anim ...
– application of experimental methods to the study of behaviour and the processes that underlie it. **
Forensic psychology Forensic psychology is the application of scientific knowledge and methods (in relation to psychology) to assist in answering legal questions that may arise in criminal, civil, contractual, or other judicial proceedings. Forensic psychology includes ...
– the intersection between psychology and the courtroom—criminal, civil, family and Federal. **
Health psychology Health psychology is the study of psychological and behavioral processes in health, illness, and healthcare. The discipline is concerned with understanding how psychological, behavioral, and cultural factors contribute to physical health and il ...
– concerned with understanding how biological, psychological, environmental, and cultural factors are involved in physical health and illness. **
Humanistic psychology Humanistic psychology is a psychological perspective that arose in the mid-20th century in answer to two theories: Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory and B. F. Skinner's behaviorism. Thus, Abraham Maslow established the need for a "third force" ...
– 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 Human capital or human assets is a concept used by economists to designate personal attributes considered useful in the production process. It encompasses employee knowledge, skills, know-how, good health, and education. Human capital has a subs ...
. **
Industrial and organizational psychology Industrial and organizational psychology (I-O psychology) "focuses the lens of psychological science on a key aspect of human life, namely, their work lives. In general, the goals of I-O psychology are to better understand and optimize the effec ...
– the scientific study of employees, workplaces, and organizations. **
Mathematical psychology Mathematical psychology is an approach to psychology, psychological research that is based on mathematical modeling of perceptual, thought, Cognition, cognitive and motor processes, and on the establishment of law-like rules that relate quantifi ...
– understanding of human nature and mind, all through applications of mathematics theories and concepts along with other methods. **
Music therapy Music therapy, an allied health profession, "is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music t ...
– 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 focus on how injuries or illnesses of the brai ...
– studies the structure and function of the brain as they relate to specific psychological processes and behaviours. **
Personality psychology Personality psychology is a branch of psychology that examines personality and its variation among individuals. It aims to show how people are individually different due to psychological forces. Its areas of focus include: * Describing what per ...
– the branch of psychology that studies personality and individual differences. **
Psychometrics Psychometrics is a field of study within psychology concerned with the theory and technique of measurement. Psychometrics generally covers specialized fields within psychology and education devoted to testing, measurement, assessment, and rela ...
– 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 psychological methods and interpretive frameworks to the diverse contents of religious traditions as well as to both religious and irreligious individuals. The various methods and frameworks ...
– application of psychological methods and interpretive frameworks to religious traditions, as well as to both religious and irreligious individuals. **
Psychophysics Psychophysics is the field of psychology which quantitatively investigates the relationship between physical stimulus (physiology), stimuli and the sensation (psychology), sensations and perceptions they produce. Psychophysics has been described ...
– 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 surroundings through the detection of stimuli. Although, in some cultures, five human senses were traditionally identified as su ...
*
Religious studies Religious studies, also known as religiology or the study of religion, is the study of religion from a historical or scientific perspective. There is no consensus on what qualifies as ''religion'' and definition of religion, its definition is h ...
– is an academic field devoted to research into
religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...
beliefs, behaviours, and institutions. *
Science and technology studies Science and technology studies (STS) or science, technology, and society is an interdisciplinary field that examines the creation, development, and consequences of science and technology in their historical, cultural, and social contexts. Histo ...
– 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 wo ...
– 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 Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
– 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'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...
– the study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behaviour in both the individual and in society. *** Crime science ***
Penology Penology (also penal theory) is a Academic discipline, subfield of criminology that deals with the philosophy and practice of various societies in their attempts to repress crime, criminal activities, and satisfy public opinion via an appropriate ...
**
Demography Demography () is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analysis examine ...
– 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 approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...
– 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 Sustainable agriculture is agriculture, farming in sustainability, sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an ...
– farming in sustainable ways based on an understanding of
ecosystem services Ecosystem services are the various benefits that humans derive from Ecosystem, ecosystems. The interconnected Biotic_material, living and Abiotic, non-living components of the natural environment offer benefits such as pollination of crops, clean ...
, 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 archaeology Archaeology is the study of human activity in the past, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact ( ...
** History of area studies ** History of communication studies ** History of cultural studies ** History of development studies ** History of economics **
History of education The history of education, like other history, extends at least as far back as the first written records recovered from ancient civilizations. Historical studies have included virtually every nation. The earliest known formal school was develope ...
** 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' derive ...
*** History of human geography ** History of history ** History of information science ** History of journalism ** History of law ** History of library science ** History of linguistics ** History of management ** History of political science *** History of international studies **** History of international relations *** History of political economy *** History of public administration **
History of psychology Psychology is defined as "the scientific study of behavior and mental processes". Philosophical interest in the human mind and behavior dates back to the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Persia, Greece, China, and India. Psychology as a field of ...
*** History of social psychology ** History of social work **
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


Education and degrees

* Bachelor of Social Science *
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
*
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
*
Bachelor of Economics A Bachelor of Economics (BEc or BEcon)Bureau of Labor StatisticsHow to Become an Economist/ref> is an academic degree, awarded to students who have completed specialised undergraduate studies in economics. Variants include the "Bachelor of Econo ...


General social science concepts

* Ethical research in social science * Open and closed systems in social science


Social science organizations


Social science publications

* List of social science journals


Social scientists

* List of anthropologists * List of business theorists *
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 * List of geographers *
List of political scientists The following is a list of notable political scientists. Political science is the scientific study of politics, a social science dealing with systems of governance and power. A * Robert Abelson – Yale University psychologist and political ...
* List of psychologists ** List of developmental psychologists ** List of educational psychologists **
List of social psychologists The following is a list of academicians, both past and present, who are widely renowned for their groundbreaking contributions to the field of social psychology. A * Dominic Abrams * Lauren Alloy * Icek Ajzen * Floyd Allport * Gordon Allport * ...
*
List of sociologists This list of sociologists includes people who have made notable contributions to sociological theory or to research in one or more areas of sociology. A * Peter Abell, British sociologist * Andrew Abbott, American sociologist * Margaret A ...
*
List of urban planners A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
* List of urban theorists


See also

*
Outline of science The following outline is provided as a topical overview of science; the discipline of science is defined as both the systematic effort of acquiring knowledge through observation, experimentation and reasoning, and the body of knowledge thus ac ...
** Outline of natural science ***
Outline of physical science Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies abiotic component, non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together is called the "physical sciences". ...
****
Outline of earth science The following outline (list), outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Earth science: Earth science – all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth (planet), Earth. It is also known as geoscience, the ge ...
** Outline of formal science ** Outline of applied science


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 apriourism
{{Outline footer *Outline
Social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...
Social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...