Scientific Methodology In Human Science

Human science is the study of the social, cultural and biological aspects of human beings; at its most fundamental level, it addresses the question of what it is to be human. On the other hand, natural sciences are a system of knowledge that study the natural world, and the material properties of the universe to help us understand them. Both these areas of knowledge are defined as “sciences” as the scientific methodology, consisting of observations, hypotheses and experiments is used in both of them so as to come up with theories. Even though human sciences use the scientific method, the conclusions derived from them are to some extent more subjective, as human behavior is unpredictable. Results may vary when applying from one human to the

The observer effect, which is the tendency of people to behave differently when they are being observed, can make you question whether the theories derived through this scientific methodology in human sciences are reliable, as we can argue that human beings would act differently if they were unaware of the fact that they are being watched. This can be avoided through hidden cameras however this is regarded as unethical as it is not acceptable to film people without their knowledge. This makes it harder for us to come up with theories in human sciences, as the knowledge needed to come up with valid laws is confined. Part of the scientific methodology is measuring things through experimentation, this is quite complicated in human sciences as we have no units for thoughts and feelings, and our consciousness consists of a continuous flow. Experimenting on humans can be regarded as unethical and running controlled experiments in certain situations can become impossible, making it even harder for us to take “measurements” and come up with decent laws. Even when laws are derived we cannot argue that they agree with the behavior of all human beings, as we are all so different. Therefore, is it even possible to predict human behavior? Results vary from person to person, culture to culture etc., making it very hard for the laws to fit all individuals. This makes human sciences very subjective, we are studying our own selves, hence our emotions can also get in the way and our perception can be different from the very person sitting next to us. Moreover, trends and laws tend to change as the years pass, as human behavior does not remain the same. Due to this, it is also very hard to make predictions and hypotheses in human sciences, as the way we react to something now does by no means indicate that we will react the same way in