ABSTRACT
One of the major advantages and disadvantages of specialists lies in the diagnostic tools they develop. All specializations have special tools for observation. Some of these are clearly identifiable physical instruments. They range from the microscope, the telescope and the scale to a wide range of instruments that can sense various bands of radiation. These are physical tools whose increasing refinement and sophistication permit scientists to increase immensely their powers of observation. In the social sciences tools are also developed by specializations, but they often have a different character. They tend to be more conceptual than physical. GNP, for example, is a concept of the wealth of a nation. It is measured through the collection of masses of economic data on the value of goods and services. This instrument permits us to see the wealth of a nation and to ask questions about the source and the use of that wealth. Sociologists use large scale probability surveys to observe behaviour, knowledge and attitudes, all of which tend to be classified by some concept of social organization. Psychologists use experiments on humans and other animals to observe how physiological and intellectual processes work.
