PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

Q: What is social inquiry? Explained their five modes of inqury?

SOCIAL INQUIRY
Social inquiry is an integrated process for examining social issues , ideas , themes and
institutions. Social inquiry deals with the questions of developing skills in gaining knowledge of
social groups like family , community and class.

MODES OF SOCIAL INQUIRY

Social sciences offers a much range of modes of inquiry .Such modes help to frame
research efforts and understand obstacles to comprehend human behavior both as individual and
as groups.

There are five modes inquiry which are discussed below;

1. Natural scientific mode of inquiry

2. Descriptive mode of inquiry
3. Critical mode of inquiry
4. Post-modern mode of inquiry
5. Contemporary Hermeneutics
1) NATURAL SCIENTIFIC MODE OF INQUIRY
Natural scientific mode of inquiry looks as social domain no differently than the natural
domain. It studies social phenomena with methods of physical sciences. Its goal is to produce
universal , context – free laws of psychological and social behavior which can be derived from
assumption and definition.

Natural scientific mode usually consists of four steps;

i. Observation and description of a social phenomenon or group.

ii. Formulation of hypothesis to explain the social phenomena based on qualitative
descriptive studies.
iii. Predict the existence of other phenomena by using the hypothesis.
iv. Conduct experimental test of the prediction by several independent experiments.
2) DESCRIPTIVISM
Descriptivist approach attaches importance to understanding personal and social meanings
which shape human life. This mode of inquiry has developed in response to naturalistic and
scientific method.
Descriptivist believe in double hermeneutics for example; they analyze human culture not as
an experimental science , but an interpretive world in search of meaning. Descriptive approach
emphasizes individual subjectivity and uniqueness of experience within a diverse culture
focusing on personal motives, reasons and goals within the objects of studies.
3) CRITICAL SOCIAL SCIENTIFIC MODE

Critic social science acknowledge that all research efforts are interpretive and evaluative.
This mode believes that values and a moral bend of mind or unavoidable.

Critic social scientific mode interpretive and evaluates the sources of tensions and
contradictions in human society. According to this mode human actions are not free from bias.

4) POST-MODREN MODE OF INQUIRY

This approach seeks to comprehend social realities while taking insiders perspective. This
approach unmasks the established assumption of human behavior. It also criticizes natural
scientific approach and descriptivism presume.
Post- modern approach denies universal laws or one explanations to understand social
phenomena. It believes that human societies are heterogeneous.
5) CONTEMPORARY HERMENUTICS
According to this approach social phenomena can be best understood and described by taking
the persons his body and his world together. It focuses on inner life in meanings by which we
shape practices institutions and world out there. Hermeneutics emphasizes dialogue as an
important tool to explain human actions and inter-actions.