Cementing “Optimization Techniques” in Social Sciences Research: Towards Non-Mathematical Optimization Techniques for the Social Sciences

The objective of this paper is to propose optimization strategies that can be applied with equal efficacy in various fields of the social sciences. Optimization is a widely used strategy and technique in mathematics and statistics. While some effort has been made to extend these techniques for various in the social sciences, we believe that they have not been able to break free entirely from their mathematical mold. Therefore, we essentially strive to adopt a non-mathematical approach that would at best border on a quasi-statistical approach, a term that we proposed, needed to be popularized, in a previous paper. We begin this paper by reviewing and presenting the core essentials of optimization techniques as they are currently applied and used in mathematics, and then present the essentials of our approach as a series of inter-dependant steps. We do hope anticipate and expect that this paper will go some way in ensuring that the social sciences break free from a mathematical format, and evolve and mature in a qualitative or a non-statistical direction. This is also naturally in keeping with the essential requirements of our globalization of science movement.