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Social science research inherently requires a considerable amount of time. It involves identifying research themes and hypotheses from prior studies, followed by the careful consideration of validation methods. Whether through theoretical or empirical approaches, social scientists begin by observing the social phenomena they study in their entirety. They may measure the phenomena to grasp their nature and use the resulting data and observations to test their hypotheses. Throughout this process, they engage in rigorous examination and analysis while confronting the very society to which they themselves belong, often without knowing whether their hypotheses will be supported. The outcomes of their research are then presented to the world in the form of books, articles, or reports, subjected to scrutiny and critique by other researchers through peer review and other means. Only research that withstands this lengthy and rigorous process is passed on to future generations.
 
Unlike the natural sciences such as physics or chemistry, where the objects of analysis are stable, the social sciences face the challenge of studying a society that is constantly changing. This necessitates stringent validation of research findings to establish their “scientific” credibility. As a result, it often takes a very long time for social science research to gain acceptance as scholarly knowledge within society. Sometimes, the society being studied changes during the validation process itself, complicating the research further.

The importance of this rigorous process of validation does not diminish, even in the face of a pandemic. The meticulous approach that characterized social science research before the spread of COVID-19 in 2020 remains largely unchanged. However, the unexpected emergence of the pandemic significantly disrupted societal norms, forcing social scientists to observe, analyze, and understand phenomena in near real-time. It was akin to navigating a ship through a storm while simultaneously trying to identify the direction in which it was heading.
 
The pandemic spurred a wave of research focusing on the societal impacts of COVID-19. Social scientists explored numerous questions: How did people obtain and trust information during an unprecedented pandemic? How did the behaviors and attitudes of individuals prohibited from face-to-face interactions to prevent infection transmission evolve? How did the pandemic alter activities like education and work, which traditionally relied on in-person engagement? What legal and institutional shortcomings were revealed by the pandemic, and how did they change?
 
These topics are now being actively studied across various fields of social science, including economics, political science, sociology, and law. This edited volume draws on the work of scholars from these disciplines to examine how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced social science research. It reflects on how social scientists responded to the pandemic in real-time and considers how the pandemic has transformed social science itself. The volume also seeks to lay the groundwork for envisioning the future role of social sciences in a post-COVID era.

(From “Introduction: Social Scientists in a Pandemic” by Susumu Kato, Ryuichi Tanaka, and Kenneth Mori McElwain)
 

(Written by TANAKA Ryuichi, Professor, Institute of Social Science / 2024)