Data and social science rhetoric: policy and instruction

I believe that social science and empirical investigation can make important contributions to our understanding and to resolution of policy issues, but only if we are clear on the nature of social science and the role of quantification. In particular we must admit the limits of our truth claims, their communal nature, and the possibility of their being utilized to serve vested interests. We must then be very clear about our potential contribution and must educate our students and the public about what we can offer. Finally, I think that we must find ways of broadening access to our basic data and analyses in order to include a wider array of interests in the dialogue. Visualization techniques graphics-based policy simulations may be fruitful in this regard. If so, we social scientists and social science data managers will still be active participants in the issue/policy discussions and our data and analysis could have an even greater effect on those debates.