Join the #1 community for gun owners of the Northwest
We believe the 2nd Amendment is best defended through grass-roots organization, education, and advocacy centered around individual gun owners. It is our mission to encourage, organize, and support these efforts throughout Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.
Discuss firearms and all aspects of firearm ownership
Join others in organizing against anti-gun legislation
Find nearby gun shops, ranges, training, and other resources
Discover free outdoor shooting areas
Stay up to date on firearm-related events
Share photos and video with other members
...and much more!
social science
Social science is the branch of science devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of society", established in the 19th century. In addition to sociology, it now encompasses a wide array of academic disciplines, including anthropology, archaeology, economics, human geography, linguistics, management science, political science, psychology, and history. (For a more detailed list of sub-disciplines within the social sciences see: Outline of social science.)
Positivist social scientists use methods resembling those of the natural sciences as tools for understanding society, and so define science in its stricter modern sense. Interpretivist social scientists, by contrast, may use social critique or symbolic interpretation rather than constructing empirically falsifiable theories, and thus treat science in its broader sense. In modern academic practice, researchers are often eclectic, using multiple methodologies (for instance, by combining both quantitative and qualitative research). The term "social research" has also acquired a degree of autonomy as practitioners from various disciplines share the same aims and methods.
Something that has been on the back of the mind for some time prompted this. Well, that and reading a ton of the social aspects of a major disaster. Some my own study, but also some material from my wife and sister (education and neuroscience, respectively), both of whom had interesting...