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Soft science
 
 
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Soft science is a colloquial term, often used for academic research
Research

Research is defined as human activity based on intellectual application in the investigation of matter. The primary purpose for applied research is discovery , interpretation , and the development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters of our world and the universe....
 or scholarship
Scholarship

A scholarship is an award of access to an institution, or a Student financial aid award for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award....
 which is purportedly "scientific" however it is not based on reproducible experiment
Experiment

In scientific inquiry, an experiment is a method of investigating causal relationships among variables. An experiment is a cornerstone of the empiricism approach to acquiring data about the world and is used in both natural sciences and social sciences....
al data, and/or a mathematical explanation of that data. The term is usually used as a contrast to hard science
Hard science

Hard science is a term used to describe natural sciences and physical sciences as distinct from social science. The hard sciences are believed to rely on experimental, empirical, quantification data or the scientific method and focus on accuracy and Objectivity ....
.

Within the natural sciences, research which depends upon conjecture (sometimes called hypothesis), qualitative analysis of data (compared to quantitative
Quantitative

A quantitative attribute is one that exists in a range of magnitudes, and can therefore be measurement. Measurements of any particular quantitative property are expressed as a specific quantity, referred to as a Unit of measurement, multiplied by a number....
 analysis), or uncertain experimental results is sometimes derided as soft science.






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Encyclopedia


Soft science is a colloquial term, often used for academic research
Research

Research is defined as human activity based on intellectual application in the investigation of matter. The primary purpose for applied research is discovery , interpretation , and the development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters of our world and the universe....
 or scholarship
Scholarship

A scholarship is an award of access to an institution, or a Student financial aid award for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award....
 which is purportedly "scientific" however it is not based on reproducible experiment
Experiment

In scientific inquiry, an experiment is a method of investigating causal relationships among variables. An experiment is a cornerstone of the empiricism approach to acquiring data about the world and is used in both natural sciences and social sciences....
al data, and/or a mathematical explanation of that data. The term is usually used as a contrast to hard science
Hard science

Hard science is a term used to describe natural sciences and physical sciences as distinct from social science. The hard sciences are believed to rely on experimental, empirical, quantification data or the scientific method and focus on accuracy and Objectivity ....
.

Within the natural sciences, research which depends upon conjecture (sometimes called hypothesis), qualitative analysis of data (compared to quantitative
Quantitative

A quantitative attribute is one that exists in a range of magnitudes, and can therefore be measurement. Measurements of any particular quantitative property are expressed as a specific quantity, referred to as a Unit of measurement, multiplied by a number....
 analysis), or uncertain experimental results is sometimes derided as soft science. Examples are evolutionary psychology
Evolutionary psychology

Evolutionary psychology attempts to explain Mind and psychology Trait theorys?such as memory, perception, or language?as adaptations, that is, as the functional products of natural selection or sexual selection....
 or meteorology
Meteorology

Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting . Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the eighteenth century....
. When soft science refers to a natural science, it is usually used pejoratively, mainly due to the term's association with social science, implying that a particular natural science topic described as "soft" does not belong to the field of natural science.

Different approaches to the scientific method can be distinguished by the research they term "soft science" and what they consider "hard." The issue is important to the philosophy of science
Philosophy of science

The philosophy of science is concerned with the assumptions, foundations, and implications of science. The field is defined by an interest in one of a set of "traditional" problems or an interest in central or foundational concerns in science....
 (which does not always support the possibility of drawing a distinction between "hard" and "soft") and to science studies
Science studies

Science studies is an interdisciplinarity research area that seeks to situate scientific expertise in a broad social, historical, and philosophical context....
 and the sociology of science
Sociology of science

Sociology of science is the subfield of sociology that deals with the practice of science.Generally speaking, the sociology of science involves the study of science as a social activity, especially dealing "with the social conditions and effects of science, and with the social structures and processes of scientific activity." It has histori...
 (which study scientists' implicit perceptions of research and methods).

Certain researchers have argued that soft science publications make less use of graph
Graph

Graph may refer to:* A graphic depicting the relationship between two or more variables used, for instance, in visualising scientific data....
s than hard science. This view is known as the graphism thesis
Graphism thesis

In sociology of science, the graphism thesis is a proposition of Bruno Latour that graphs are important in science.Research has shown that we can distinguish between hard science and soft science disciplines based on the level of graph use, so it can be argued that there is a correlation between scientificity and visuality....
.

See also

  • Hard science
    Hard science

    Hard science is a term used to describe natural sciences and physical sciences as distinct from social science. The hard sciences are believed to rely on experimental, empirical, quantification data or the scientific method and focus on accuracy and Objectivity ....
  • Memetics
    Memetics

    Memetics is an approach to evolutionary models of cultural information transfer based on the concept of the meme. Starting from a metaphor used in the writings of Richard Dawkins, it has since turned into a new area of study, one that looks at the self-replicating units of culture....
  • The central science
    The central science

    Chemistry is often called the central science because of its role in connecting the physical science, which include chemistry, with the biology and applied science such as medicine and engineering....
  • Objectivity (science)
    Objectivity (science)

    "[A]n objective account is one which attempts to capture the nature of the object studied in a way that does not depend on any features of the particular subject who studies it....
  • Subjectivity
    Subjectivity

    Subjectivity refers to a subject's perspective or opinion, particularly feelings, beliefs, and desires. It is often used casually to refer to unjustified personal opinions, in contrast to knowledge and justified belief....
  • Human science
    Human Science

    Human science is a term applied to the investigation of human life and human activities via a rational, systematic, and verifiable methodology that acknowledges the validity of both data derived by impartial observation of sensory experience and data derived by means of impartial observation of psychological experience ....
  • Soft computing
    Soft computing

    Soft computing refers to a collection of computational techniques in computer science, machine learning and some engineering disciplines, which study, model, and analyze very complex phenomena: those for which more conventional methods have not yielded low cost, analytic, and complete solutions....
  • History of science
    History of science

    Science is a body of empirical knowledge, theory, and Procedural knowledge knowledge about the Nature, produced by a global community of researchers making use of scientific methods, which emphasize the observation, experimentation and scientific explanation of real world phenomenon....
  • Philosophy of science
    Philosophy of science

    The philosophy of science is concerned with the assumptions, foundations, and implications of science. The field is defined by an interest in one of a set of "traditional" problems or an interest in central or foundational concerns in science....


External links

  • : an analysis of news coverage of the social sciences, from Columbia University
    Columbia University

    Columbia University in the City of New York , is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Columbia's main campus lies in the Morningside Heights, Manhattan neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City....