Where Social Science Leads to Social Change

The health consequences of diet, the patterns that epidemics take, the effectiveness of welfare programs – these are a few of the many achievements made possible by advances in social science research. In fact, much of the applied research under way today in medicine, psychology, education, economic development, regulatory policy, electoral politics, and foreign policy relies on previous groundbreaking achievements in basic social science theory, methods, and research.

Center Fellows have made significant contributions to improving the human condition by advancing our understanding of behavior and society in two ways: indirectly, through advances in basic theory and methods of statistical analysis that make possible valid, reliable applied policy research; and directly, by using the results of social science research and methods to devise specific programs and policies in a range of fields.

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