Research has many different faces: it ranges from basic to applied and can be carried out using different methods and approaches: quantitative, qualitative, empirical, theoretical, experimental, and combinations of these. Not only methodology is subject to change, but also the subject of social science research, humans in their social environment, is constantly changing. In addition, more and more information is becoming available through new digital technologies and methods. Interpreting this information is complex, partly because information is collected for different purposes and at different levels of aggregation. At the same time, social sciences are increasingly expected to make contributions to solving complex societal and economic challenges.
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Social sciences are divided into behavioural and social sciences, which together represent a very broad spectrum of disciplines, such as anthropology, public administration, economics, law, political science, sociology, communication science, psychology, pedagogy, education science, criminology, and social geography. One can hardly think of a social or economic issue to which the social sciences do not contribute. Those contributions are relevant only if the methodology is state-of-the-art. It must be clear what has been measured and what conclusions can be drawn from it. In this way, social science methodology forms the foundation for a very diverse range of basic and applied research and recommendations based on that research for the solution of many social, political, economic issues.
