Human Sciences... Strengths and Limitations

Human Sciences and Natural Sciences have multiple similar aspects such as the methods used of understanding relationships between two variables. In Natural Sciences the experimental method is used whereas Human Sciences use multiple qualitative as well as quantitative data collection methods. Human sciences are also more subjective than Natural Sciences in the sense that they can be bound by time, culture...etc. Cause and effect relationships cannot always be established, and one result doesn’t work under all circumstances.

There are multiple loopholes in research conducted in the field of human sciences. Firstly, there’s the change of a statistical fluke when analyzing results. There are cases where researchers subconsciously chose statistical tests for their findings based on the results the want to get. Baring this in mind, there could be multiple perspectives through which to look at the findings of a study. From these, the researchers would choose the one which best fits the hypothesis and publish it; but what about the other ways of looking at the results which could make them turn out completely different. This can be seen when a replicated experiment produces different results; one reason for this could be the way it has been analyzed. The obvious reason for change in human sciences is the change in time and experiences that particular participants have. This means that each human is different based on their experiences, affiliations, etc. so how can human behavior be generalized based on one study?

This could have multiple implications, especially in the medical or therapeutic world. Medicine and therapy is based on studies conducted by researchers, but if those studies don’t completely reflect the problem in the current time period and if the problem could be different for each person such as depression, what are the chances that the medicine will have the right effects on the patient and not the wrong ones. Research is the basis for the principles and rules of many things in society, such as marketing of products, timings for work and school, even simple things such as clothing to be worn to places. Therefore, if the research is wrong then society could be doing less progress than it has the potential for. Furthermore, getting the right research methodology could be crucial for the progress of society and the world in general.

Another limitation is that not all research is published, only positive research is published, negative research which doesn’t support the hypothesis is not published. This again could have implications on the real world uses of human sciences in which a holistic view of the effects of a certain variable are not taken into account. It might be effective in the short term while publishing the report, but the whole purpose of the study is to benefit the world with its findings, and that significant aspect of it most be put first.

On the other hand, there are also multiple strengths of studies regarding human sciences. Research in the past in this field has helped us establish treatments for many psychological diseases which work very well and solve many psychological problems in today’s time. The human sciences have attracted many people to the field and thanks to that we know so much more about human behavior that we ever did before. We can now predict people’s behavior to an extent and how they react to certain things which is the basis for marketing and business. Therefore, human sciences have opened new job pathways for us, and have helped us understand and appreciate each other better. The way human sciences have changed and helped society does show that it is very reliable to some extent; when conducting research, researchers take many variables into account, and the methodology is split into many complex and extensive sectors so that reliability and validity can be restored. The podcast also talks about the registry through which all research can be validated; though this brings up the issue of trust where the computer is considered more reliable than the person, and this can end up with arguments between people, and again doubt in what is the truth.

In conclusion, human sciences have both strengths and limitations to them, just like every other concept. The important idea to remember is that knowing these strengths and limitations, we can have an idea of how reliable our research is, and we can take that into account when making important decisions, especially about peoples’ lives and health.