New Directions and Challenges of Social Sciences Assignment

New Directions and Challenges of Social Sciences - Assignment Example The fact that it has been labeled soft science can affect the perceived value of the discipline as well as the amount of funding available to it (Bernstein, 1983). A perfect example is during the late 2000s recessions where social science disproportionately cut from funding compared to mathematics and natural science, which was never touched. Numerous proposals were made for the National Science Foundation to cease funding all social sciences since they make no impact to development. Secondly, social sciences progress is considered nonlinear because many new ideas have to lead to revolutions while others have had lengthy gestation periods and ultimately met a protracted resistance (Bernstein, 1983). Furthermore, other new ideas have attained overly rapid and faddish acceptance that is usually followed by a quick dismissal. Bernstein further asserts that an earlier generation of research in retail management documented a myriad of characteristics attached to scientific progress, but it was never followed by trans-disciplinary studies that tested and developed the general theories that cropped out. Additionally, social sciences such as retail management deal with people. As such, it becomes difficult in isolating all the variables that may influence the outcome of any social science research. In fact, controlling the variable may even alter the results thus it is hard to devise an experiment in any a soft science. The last two decades, the science of retail management has indeed gained relevance and developed the wealth of instruments. Of great importance are the techniques that are used in carrying out an objective research. In spite of using research as a tool for finding answers to business problems, there still one big challenge: explicit assumptions. Most of these tacit assumptions undermine research more so, in retail management (Collins, 2001). Â