Social science applications: A caveat for the operations research analyst

Abstract

There is a growing sense of general discontent with the uncertainty, lack of understanding and absence of agreement in human services programs. Although operations research should have an impact on this situation by structuring the system for evaluation and decision-making, there has been limited application in these programs. This paper attempts to define and describe the gap in progress between the application of computers and operations research to the social sciences and the state of social programs, and attempts to define the limitations, trends and potentials for computer applications and operations research to reduce these gaps. The operations research analyst is cautioned in the judicious use of sophisticated methodology in social programs. Three social programs—child welfare services, vocational rehabilitation services and learning to read—illustrate problems and questions not characteristic of the physical sciences, but which the operations research analyst will confront in the human service fields. Suggestions are made to guide him in adapting to them successfully. These include: adopting a broader, less methodological analysis style; refocusing university training to incorporate a social science orientation in operations research curricula and a better subject matter understanding; and developing an instructional unit on the pathology of failure—that is, the clinical study of failures in the application of computers and operations research to the social sciences—in order to learn from them and to avoid similar future applications.