social science number

(IBM) A statistic that is content-free, or nearly so. A measure derived via methods of questionable validity from data of a dubious and vague nature. Predictively, having a social science number in hand is seldom much better than nothing, and can be considerably worse. Management loves them.

See also numbers, math-out, pretty pictures.

Nearby terms:
social engineering « social network « social networking « social science number » socket » Socket 1 » Socket 2