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There seems to be a mismatch between the societal demand for social-science knowledge and the supply of knowledge from the social sciences. The need for a reassessment of the way the social sciences operate and their role and status in society, is the main raison d'etre of the World Social Science Initiative (WSSI), promoted by the International Social Science Council. The WSSI, which emerged as a follow-up to an OECD International Conference Series on "Re-thinking the Social Sciences" supported by the European Commission's Research Directorate-General and UNESCO's Management of Social Transformations (MOST) Programme, offers a flexible framework for enhancing both the scientific quality and the social relevance of the social sciences. (Original abstract)

Probability theory is concerned with measurements of regularities which emerge when uncertain individual events are observed in the aggregate. 2 hypothetical examples of the use of probability theory in studying patterns of variation are presented: (1) variations of some quantity over time--is there a discernable pattern & if so, what can be deduced from it, & (2) mobility processes, where individuals move (or do not move) from one state to another. Both the interplay between data & theory & practical applications are demonstrated. 2 objections to the statistical approach to social phenomena are discussed: (A) that it is indifferent to human values, & (B) that it is concerned with small scale phenomena rather than major problems. 5 Figures. J. N. Mayer.

At the time when the journal Sustainability [1] was launched, as a chemist and a scientist, I started to believe that social sciences may be more important to make humans sustainable. The broad journal title Social Sciences presents the opportunity for all social science scholars to have integrated consideration regarding the sustainability of humanity, because I am sure that science and technology alone cannot help. Science and technology may have in fact been contributing to accelerate the depletion of nonrenewable natural resources and putting human sustainability at risk since the industrial revolution about 150 years ago. I hope all intellectuals studying anthropology, archaeology, administration, communication, criminology, economics, education, government, linguistics, international relations, politics, sociology and, in some contexts, geography, history, law, and psychology publish with us to seek a solution to sustain humanity. Sustainability itself will also be a main topic of the journal Social Sciences. In addition to this integrated forum for social sciences, more topic specific journals, such as the already publishing Societies [2], will be launched. [.]

Part of a written symposium on Soc Sci & Soc Policy. Some cautionary thoughts are expressed re soc sci's contribution to the future. It may be taken for granted that the need for soc sci will be great & growing. It is utopian, however, to expect that soc sci will be able to solve all problems of society. The soc sci's are unevenly adapted to assuming interventionist roles. There are diff's in the universe of rewards & penalties with which each is suited to deal. Soc sci'ts as a group operate under greater handicaps than do physical sci'ts. Professional discipline is weak, with the result that soc sci'ts are not under a strong compulsion to confirm or refute their own findings as well as those of others. Hence fallacies may stay alive & ideological considerations may help give shape to the views of soc sci'ts in respect even of their own specialties. While quantification is improving soc sci, it is often not adequately integrated with the underlying theoretical structure. It is possible, however, that growth in affluence will increase the importance of the goals espoused by the humanities. It may be recognized that the humanities can be mobilized in defense of the worth of the individual & in support of the importance of the life of the mind, both of which are endangered in an interventionist world. Reports on past interventionism of soc sci'ts are discussed, esp the Moynihan Report. Soc sci has so far not been up to the demands made upon it. Reduction of the immediate impact of the state & the large foundation upon the shape & purpose of the soc sci would conduce to its improvement & make soc sci ready to meet the analytical & policy-oriented challenges that lie ahead. M. Maxfield.

Max Weber wrote these methodological essays in the closest intimacy with actual research and against a background of constant and intensive meditation on substantive problems in the theory and strategy of the social sciences. They were written between 1903 and 1917, the most productive of Max Weber's life, when he was working on his studies in the sociology of religion and Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft. Weber had done important work in economic and legal history and had taught economic theory. On the basis of original investigations, he had acquired a specialist's knowledge of the details of German economic and social structure. His always vital concern for the political prosperity of Germany among the nations thrust him deeply into discussion of political ideals and programs. Weber's methodology still holds interest for us. Some of its shortcomings, from the contemporary viewpoint, may be attributed to the fact that some of the methodological problems that he treated could not be satisfactorily resolved prior to certain actual developments in research technique. These few qualifications aside, the work remains a pioneering work in large scale social research, from one of the field's masters.

For some time, the growing stature of political science as an independent social science has been a notable feature in American universities. Yet, up to the present time, the categories of this new field of scientific endeavor have not found their way into the indexing departments of libraries, nor have they been recognized by indexers of other collections. Even the editors of encyclopedias, people of great learning and ability, have omitted some of the most significant topics of political science, because of the lack of any accepted index indicating the range of the field and focusing attention upon its primary categories. The American Political Science Review itself is confronted with the problem of a suitable subject-index. The growing complexity of all kinds of materials bearing upon the work of political scientists, and more particularly the increasing mass of public documents, has become more and more baffling. Even the skillful indexers of the Congressional Record, for example, seem unaware of the major topics of interest for political science, and thus no sign-posts of the usual kind have been made available to workers in our field.