ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the more societal concerns evoked by the new genetic technologies and analyses the nature of the roles that the social sciences, and social scientists, play in this area. Concerns within society at large have mainly been articulated in the areas of healthcare and of genetically modified food and agriculture. The role of social science in developing a better understanding of genomics and the new genetic technologies goes beyond rehearsing the societal concerns. The chapter discusses some of the methodological implications for social science research, and focuses on the use of qualitative methods. There is a degree of commonality between quantitative and qualitative methods that make both appropriate for studying the interrelationships between society and the new genetic technologies. The new genetic health technologies are rapidly moving from laboratory research into clinical practice through a variety of pathways including the diagnosis, monitoring, prevention and treatment of a range of single and, multi-factorial diseases.
