Through their studies and analyses, social scientists and urban planners assist educators, government officials, business leaders, and others in solving social, economic, and environmental problems. Research is a basic activity for many social scientists. They use established or newly discovered methods to assemble facts and theory that contribute to human knowledge. Applied research usually is designed to produce information that will enable people to make better decisions or manage their affairs more effectively. Interviews and surveys are widely used to collect facts, opinions, or other information.
Social sciences are interdisciplinary in nature.
Specialists in one field often find that the research they are performing overlaps work that is being conducted in another social science discipline. Regardless of their field of specialization, social scientists are concerned with some aspect of society, culture, or personality. Anthropologists study the origin and the physical, social, and cultural development and behavior of humans. Anthropologists generally concentrate in sociocultural anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, or biological-physical anthropology. Sociocultural anthropologists study the customs, cultures, and social lives of groups in a wide range of settings from nonindustrialized societies to modern urban cultures.