Taylor Heger
Jennifer Ford
IDS-100
02/20/2022
Module 7-1 Project
1. Using the resources from this course, identify the characteristics of each of the
four liberal arts lenses, the types of evidence they use, and the similarities and
differences among them.
o Identify the key characteristics of each of the four lenses: social science, natural
science, history, and the humanities.
Be sure to include relevant points that help explain the characteristics.
Social Science- Social science is the exploration of behaviors of human societies. Distinct
practices under this lens include anthropology, psychology, sociology, and political
science.
Natural Science- Natural science is the examination of the physical world established on
measurement, conjecture formation, and preliminary substantiation.
History- The history lens allows for researchers to delve into the past. The main concern
are why certain reactions transpired, and how they are associated with prior practices.
Humanities- The humanities focus of study is that of ethics, languages, and arts of
different cultures universally.
o Identify the types of evidence used when looking through each lens.
Social Science- Evidence used by the social sciences is that of straightforward knowledge
and inspection, joined with the scientific method to convey authentic research.
Natural Science- The natural science lens is based on factual evidence from consideration
and testing. Instruments such as dissertation and scholarly articles may be used as
evidence as long as the information is credible, respectable, and admissible.
History- There are two main types of historical evidence: primary and secondary sources.
A primary source would be a first-hand narrative of a development or subject. A
secondary source would be works such as literature and article reviews, research reports,
or reference books.
Humanities- Evidence used by the humanities lens would contain documents such as
historical newspapers, diaries/journals/letters, case law, and works of art/literature/music.
Sources used are primarily from the duration under study.
o Determine similarities and differences among the lenses, based on the
characteristics you have identified.
The history and humanities lenses are the most complementary among the four lenses.
Foremost, both lenses use primary sources that implement immediate testimony of an incident or
topic. Secondly, the evidence compiled utilizes past information to solve present-day problems.
The way they differ is the disciplines they focus on. The commonalities between history and
social science are that they both benefit from primary and secondary sources, and they both
investigate the past to achieve an advanced comprehension of how different groups of people
interact with one another. The social sciences use primary and secondary sources, while history
only uses primary. Lastly, history and the natural sciences use primary sources, and investigate
the world that we live in. The difference between them is that history is the study of past events,
and natural science is the study of the physical world.
2. For the topic you selected from the list above, determine what you know, what you want
to know, and what you have learned about the topic from the provided resources in the
library guide. You will need to use each of the four lenses in your responses.
o Know (K): Draw on previous and personal experiences to provide information
about what you already know about your topic in relation to each lens.
What I do know about my chosen topic of justice first and foremost, is that if you were
to ask several individuals their definition of justice, there would likely be a different response
from each one. From my own personal experiences, as well as what I witness in the news and on
social media, justice is seldomly served in the time or manner the way society thinks it should,
and sometimes justice never comes. Secondly, I know law enforcement officials are expected to
adhere to policies put in place in order to protect themselves, although not always agreed with by
the population, but nonetheless they have to comply.
o Want to know (W): Determine what you want to know about your topic in
relation to each lens.
Be sure to phrase this information in the form of questions.
What keywords would be helpful in exploring your topic?
Social Sciences- How does social media influence crimes?
Natural Sciences- How has the advancement of forensic science aided in the
solving of crimes?
History- How are so many people falsely accused of crimes?
Humanities- What are the main weaknesses of the criminal justice system?
o Learned (L): Answer the questions you posed about your topic using the
provided sources in the library guide. If they are not answered by the resources,
explain what steps you will take to answer them.
How does social media influence crimes?
An article I found interesting when researching this question discussed how the media
creates imitative behavior in relation to mass shootings. In the event of a mass shooting, there is
extensive coverage of it in the news and on social media. The more broadcasting that the incident
emits, the greater the possibility of an imitation situation proceeding.
How has the advancement of forensic science aided in the solving of crimes?
When answering this question, I found an article where a man was falsely accused of rape, and
was eventually cleared after nine years due to DNA evidence. This is a common scenario, but a
solid example of how the ever-growing field of forensic science has assisted in the ability to
solve crimes with credible evidence.
How are so many people falsely accused of crimes?
I stumbled across a case where a mother was convicted of arson and the murder of her three-
year-old son. Investigators immediately concluded that the fire was set intentionally, without
scientific evidence to back up their assumptions. Seventeen years later she was released, after it
was determined that her conviction was based upon not only bogus evidence, but it was
unreliable. This seems to be a pattern in cases where a person is unjustifiably fated.
What are the main weaknesses of the criminal justice system?
This question was difficult to find a definitive answer for when skimming through the library
guide. In my opinion, a central weakness of the criminal justice system is that it contains
“professionals” who allow their personal biases to cloud their judgement, impacting their ability
to provide fair treatment, determining a defendant to be guilty until proven innocent, versus the
other way around, as it should be.
3. Choose two of the four lenses you applied when researching your topic, and examine the
topic in greater detail.
o Topic and first lens: Examine your topic through your first lens.
Be sure to identify the lens you selected.
Write about what you learned in your examination. Use details and
examples relevant to that lens from the resources in the library guide and
the course.
The first lens I chose to focus on regarding the topic of justice is history. Exploring the
history of justice has allowed me to see how past circumstances have shaped the criminal justice
system to what it is now in the present day.
o Topic and second lens: Examine your topic through your second lens.
Be sure to identify the lens you selected.
Write about what you learned in your examination. Use details and
examples relevant to that lens from the resources in the library guide and
the course.
The second lens I chose to take interest in with reference to the topic of justice is the
humanities. I was unable to find an answer I was content with to the question I had. I conclude I
will most likely continue to feel this way, even after completing further analysis.
o Similarities and differences: Explain the similarities and differences in how
the lenses relate to your topic.
Focus on the view you get when looking at your topic through both lenses.
In association with justice, history and the humanities have a few similarities. Evidence
from the two lenses can be utilized by using past information to decipher present day problems.
Considering history is an umbrella subject that falls under the humanities, the fundamental
distinction between the two lenses is that the humanities is the study of ethics, languages, and
arts of differing cultures, while history uses accurate historical evidence received from credible
sources to probe into the past to determine civilized contributions that lead to historical
circumstances.
o Further exploration: Determine the next steps for further exploration of the
topic you have chosen.
Determine questions to ask for further exploration of this topic. Would
you continue to explore through the lenses you’ve chosen, or take another
approach?
Although I had difficulty finding answers, I would still choose to explore the topic of
justice through the history and humanities lenses. They compliment each other the most over any
of the other lenses, considering history can be considered a subcategory of the humanities.
References
Kronzek, L. (2020). History. Salem Press Encyclopedia.
Shaughnessy, M. F. (2017). The Humanies Past, Present, and Future. Nova Science Publishers,
Inc.
Garcia, J. D., Ph.D. 2020. “Social Science.” Salem Press Encyclopedia. h*ps://search-ebscohost-
com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&AN=113928172&site=eds-live&scope=
site.
Garcia, J. D. . P. D. (2020). Social science. Salem Press Encyclopedia.
Thomson, B., & Thomson, B. (2014, April 7). Wrongful conviction suit filed for Kristine
Bunch. People’s Law Office. Retrieved February 6, 2022, from https://peopleslawoffice.
com/wrongful-conviction-suit-filed-kristine-bunch/
