The work of a social scientist entails studying society. This includes not only past events in a society’s history, but also current behavior and relationships. These researchers are interested in learning how individuals and groups make decisions in order to gain insight into their patterns of behavior. They collect and analyze data in order to draw conclusions about how people develop socially, culturally, and even physically. Social scientists also conduct research to determine how human activities and behaviors interact with the environment in which they live.
One type of social scientist is a historian. His job entails researching and analyzing the past. Historians do this consulting a variety of sources, including newspapers and periodicals, government records, photos, manuscripts, and films. Historians may even use diaries to piece together events from the past. Some historians write books and articles about their interpretations. Many go on to pass on what they’ve learned to others.
Another type of social scientist is an anthropologist. He researches the origins of human life, as well as human development and behavior. Anthropologists research the ways of life, physical appearance, customs, and value systems of people from all over the world. A person in this field also investigates the social patterns that exist across cultures, as well as the differences in language. Some anthropologists study evolution, while others focus on issues such as war and population growth.
An archeologist is a social scientist who studies past civilizations to learn about how they lived, worked, and socialized. These social scientists unearth and examine artifacts left behind previous civilizations, such as building parts, pottery, and even cave paintings. Archeologists dig at sites they believe will contain items relevant to their work in order to find these items.
Geographers are classified as social scientists as well. These social scientists study and evaluate the earth’s or a portion of it’s physical and cultural characteristics. Climates, bodies of water, plant life, land forms, political systems, and economic aspects of specific regions are among the things they may study. Medical geographers, on the other hand, study medical care systems and how the environment affects health.
Social scientists are typically well-educated individuals. A master’s degree or a Doctor of Philosophy is required for most jobs in this field (Ph.D.). There may be some entry-level job opportunities that only require a bachelor’s degree, though they are scarce. People in this field frequently receive statistics training, which is beneficial for analyzing research data.