Methodical, rigorous analysis is a key part of research in the social sciences. Research topics can be quantitative (eg numbers of people, dollars spent), or highly abstract and qualitative (eg the workings of the human mind, societal change). As a result, writers in the social sciences rely on many different methodologies and types of data to explore their theories and support their findings.

Strong social sciences writing:

• acknowledges any weaknesses of the argument and supporting evidence, and respects the strengths of the counterargument, rather than trying to gloss over these points
• is consistent in its logic and reasoning.

Writing in the social sciences disciplines must be based on up-to-date sources, because information in these fields changes quickly as society evolves. Moreover, the various fields are highly interconnected, with significant amounts of interdisciplinary collaboration and publishing. The result is a fast-moving and ever-changing set of facts and understanding of the world, all contributing to a large pool of data and evidence on which to base your writing.

Information based on past statistics, such as a study conducted at a specific time or census information from a particular year, must be clearly identified as such, with the relevant date and the use of the past tense.

See Writing about evidence for more details of the different types of evidence, and how to write about evidence clearly and accurately.