Exploring Students’ Position Regarding Objectivity and Social Justice Activism in Social Sciences

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For driving societal change, the knowledge produced by social sciences plays an important role. But whether social sciences should contribute directly to promoting social change is up for discussion. One such contribution is towards achieving social justice, which has generated some discussions and attracted criticism. Nevertheless, some social scientists are interested in engaging in this form of activism. Others criticize it for lacking objectivity and letting political beliefs influence research. While such debates reveal where specific social scientists stand on these topics, less is known about students' perspectives and what factors play a role in shaping their views. To address this, the paper aims to explore how students in social science faculties stand when it comes to objectivity and activism, and to examine whether there is a relationship between their position and their gender and political orientation.