Socialvetenskaplig

Socialvetenskaplig is an adjective used in Swedish to describe things related to the social sciences. It appears in phrases such as socialvetenskaplig forskning (social science research), socialvetenskaplig teori (social science theory), and socialvetenskaplig angreppsvinkel (social-science perspective). The term signals an interdisciplinary orientation that covers studies of society, social relations, institutions, and human behavior.

It is broader than sociologisk, which specifically denotes sociology. Socialvetenskaplig can apply to research and discourse that draw on fields such as sociology, statsvetenskap or politologi (political science), anthropology, human geography, psychology, and economics when these fields are treated from a social-science perspective. In practice, the label is used to emphasize methodological and theoretical commonalities across disciplines within the social sciences.

Usage notes: in Swedish, samhällsvetenskaplig is also used to describe the general realm of social sciences, and written distinctions between samhällsvetenskaplig and socialvetenskaplig vary by region and institution. The term socialvetenskaplig is common in academic writing and is often chosen to underscore a scientific approach that spans multiple social disciplines, rather than a single subject.

Methods commonly associated with socialvetenskaplig work include both qualitative and quantitative approaches, such as interviews, ethnography, surveys, archival research, and statistical analysis. The term thus connotes an orientation toward systematic study of social phenomena using a range of research strategies.