Why Social Science? is a project of the Consortium of Social Science Associations that aims to share the benefits and contributions of federally-funded social and behavioral science research with the public and encourage its widespread use for tackling challenges of national importance. You can sign up to receive Why Social Science? posts by email by filling out this form.
- Because Social Science Is a Form of Service that Improves Quality of Life for People Around the World – By Arthur Lupia, PhD, Assistant Director for Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences, National Science Foundation, August 27, 2019
- Because It Guides Us Toward Practical and Attainable Solutions – By Tom Kecskemethy, Executive Director, The American Academy of Political and Social Science, July 30, 2019
- Because It Can Improve the Lives of Those Who Serve Our Country – By Leanne K. Knobloch, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Communication, University of Illinois & Steven R. Wilson, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Communication, University of South Florida, June 18, 2019
- Because It Helps to Address Graduate Unemployment in Sub-Saharan Africa – By Joseph K. Assan, PhD, Assistant Professor of International Political Economy of Sustainable Development, Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, April 23, 2019
- Because Social Science Equips Us with Tools We Will Need to Face Down the Biggest Issues of Our Time, Including the Growing Global Threat of Climate Change – By The Honorable Paul Tonko, United States Representative, New York’s 20th Congressional District, U.S. House of Representatives, March 26, 2019
- Because It Requires Confronting the Assumptions We Have About Others – By Lee Hoffer, PhD, Associate Professor of Medical Anthropology, Case Western Reserve University, February 26, 2019
- Because It Can Improve Government Efficiency via Evidence-Based Policy – By Taylor Scott, Ph.D., Associate Director, Research-to-Policy Collaboration, Pennsylvania State University & Max Crowley, Ph.D., Executive Director, Research-to-Policy Collaboration, Assistant Professor of Human Development & Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University, January 29, 2019
- Because Social Science Research and Education Are Critical for National Security – By Claudia Brugman, PhD, Research Scientist and Technical Director for Language in Social Systems, Center for Advanced Study of Language, University of Maryland, November 20, 2018
- Because It Helps Build Resilience in the Face of Disasters – By Brandi Gilbert, Ph.D., Research Associate, Urban Institute & Nnenia Campbell, Ph.D., Research Associate, Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, October 23, 2018
- Because It’s Proliferating – By Alondra Nelson, President, Social Science Research Council, September 25, 2018
- Because Social Science Can Have an Impact on Public Policy – By Peter B. Wood, Professor of Sociology and Criminology, Eastern Michigan University, September 11, 2018
- Because It Can Challenge Conventional Wisdom – By Olugbenga Ajilore, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Economics, University of Toledo, August 27, 2018
- Because It Helps Us Identify and Combat Misinformation – By Melanie C. Green, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Communication, University at Buffalo, August 14, 2018
- Because It Can Improve the Lives of City Residents – By David Yokum, J.D., Ph.D., Director, The Lab @ DC, July 31, 2018
- Because It Produces Essential Data for Our Democracy – By Ronald L. Wasserstein, Ph.D., Executive Director, American Statistical Association, March 27, 2018
- Because It is an Engine for Social Progress – By Darla Spence Coffey, PhD, MSW, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Council on Social Work Education & James Herbert Williams, PhD, MSW, MPA, Arizona Centennial Professor of Social Welfare Services at Arizona State University, February 27, 2018
- Because It Adds Value, Even When You Don’t See It – By Wendy Naus, COSSA Executive Director, January 30, 2018
- Because Social Science Fosters Robust and Trustworthy Knowledge – By Felice J. Levine, Ph.D., Executive Director, American Educational Research Association, December 29, 2017
- Because Language Is Essential to Human Interaction – By Evan Bradley, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychology, Penn State Brandywine, December 5, 2017
- Because It Is Central in Guiding Efforts to Foster Success in STEM in Our Children and Youth – By Martha Zaslow, Ph.D., Director for Policy and Communications, Society for Research in Child Development, November 21, 2017
- Because Social Science Helps Us Enhance Diversity in the Interest of Positive Societal Outcomes – By Jean H. Shin, Ph.D., Director of Minority and Student Affairs, American Sociological Association, November 7, 2017
- Because Social Science Is the Fundamental Bedrock of Just Societies – By Sara Miller McCune, Founder & Executive Chair, SAGE Publishing, October 10, 2017
- Because Social and Behavioral Research Improves Health and Quality of Life – By Mary Woolley, President & CEO, Research!America, September 26, 2017
- Because It Makes Computing Work for People – By Andrew Bernat, Ph.D., Executive Director, Computing Research Association, September 12, 2017
- Because Social Science Informs Effective, Efficient, and Equitable Education Policies – By Juliane Baron, Director of Government Relations, American Educational Research Association, August 22, 2017
- Because Social Science Makes Sense of the Institutions That Shape Our Lives – By Steven Rathgeb Smith, Ph.D., Executive Director, American Political Science Association, July 18, 2017
- Because Nearly Every Challenge We Face Requires Understanding the Causes and Consequences of Human Behavior – by COSSA, July 5, 2017
- Because Social Science Drives Smart Investments in Public Safety – By Nancy La Vigne, Ph.D., Chair, Crime & Justice Research Alliance, June 20, 2017
- Because Information Without Meaning Lacks Purpose – By Paaige K. Turner, Ph.D., Executive Director, National Communication Association, June 6, 2017
- Because Multilingualism Is an Asset and a Goal Worth Pursuing – By John Tessitore, Ph.D., Senior Program Advisor, American Academy of Arts & Sciences, May 24, 2017
- Because Social Science Is Necessary to Achieve Health Equity – by Courtney Ferrell Aklin, & Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, NIH National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. April 25, 2017
- Because All Fields of Science Are Drivers of Freedom and Prosperity – by COSSA. April 11, 2017
- Because It Is in the National Interest, Both in Interdisciplinary Work and on Its Own – by Daniel Lipinski, Ph.D., United States Representative, Illinois’ Third District, U.S. House of Representatives. March 28, 2017
- Because We Need to Understand What Will Motivate People to Take Action – by Marcia McNutt, Ph.D., President, National Academy of Sciences. March 14, 2017
- Because Small Tweaks to Behavior Can Be the Difference Between Life and Death – by Lisa Sage, Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) Contributing Writer. February 28, 2017
- Because It Makes the World Safe for Cultural Differences – by Anne Kelsey, Marketing and Communications Manager, American Anthropological Association
- Because the Social and Behavioral Sciences Contribute to Improving the Health of the Population – by William (Bill) Riley, Director, NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research. January 31, 2017
- Why social science? An Introduction – by Wendy Naus, COSSA Executive Director. January 17, 2017