About Social Science

Why Social Science? is a COSSA initiative that shares relatable and accessible information about research in the social and behavioral sciences with public audiences by highlighting the benefits and contributions of this research and encouraging its widespread use in tackling challenges of national importance.

The primary home for this activity is a dedicated website, www.whysocialscience.com, which serves as COSSA’s centralized hub for social science information written for a lay audience. The main feature of the site is a monthly blog that features guest posts from partners from within and outside the social sciences, including in federal agencies, Congress, industry, non-governmental organizations, other scientific communities, and elsewhere. Past posts have covered the social science relevance to natural disaster response, diversity in STEM, cybersecurity and computing, health disparities, and educational attainment, to name a few.

COSSA also uses the Why Social Science? branding to bring its message about the public value of social and behavioral science research to Capitol Hill by hosting Why Social Science? Congressional briefings featuring authors of guest posts on the blog.