The followingoutline is provided as a topical overview ofscience. Science is the systematic study of the world and the resulting knowledge obtained from this study.[1] The word "science" derives from the Latin wordscientia meaning knowledge. A practitioner of science is called a "scientist". Modern science respectsobjective logical reasoning, and follows a set of core procedures or rules to determine the nature and underlying natural laws of all things, with a scope encompassing the entireuniverse. These procedures, or rules, are known as thescientific method.
Experimentation is the use of controlled conditions to test an idea. A singleindependent variable is altered while all other conditions arekept the same to test the alteration's effect on a dependent variable.[2]
Descriptive andnormative science are contrasting methods to explain scientific ideas. Descriptive science explains ideas objectively while normative science explains what should be true usingvalue judgments.[3]
Empirical research is conducted using observation and experimentation instead of theory.[4]
Empirical evidence is evidence gathered through direct observation instead of indirect theory.[5]
Falsifiability is the ability to test a hypothesis through experimentation to determine whether it is false.[6]Karl Popper argued that a claim must be falsifiable to be recognized as scientific.[7]
Hard and soft science are descriptions of how measurable and precise a branch of science is. Hard sciences like biology and physics are more measurable while soft sciences like anthropology and psychology are less measurable.[8]
Laboratories are places where scientists engage in research and study.[9]
Measurement is the use of precise units to describe a quantity.[10]
Models are representations of scientific phenomena to assist in studying or explaining them.[11]
Observations are the use of one's senses to obtain information, and the resulting discoveries.[12]
Observational studies are a type of research conducted solely by observing without controlling variables or testing specific hypotheses.[13]
Reproducibility or replicability is the ability for subsequent experiments to confirm the accuracy of previous ones by producing the same result.[14] This may be through an identical experiment or a test of the same hypothesis under different conditions.[15]
Prediction is the use of observation to determine future results through inference.[16]
Thescientific method is a series of steps taken to engage in experimentation and produce factual results. The exact steps to be taken, or whether an all-encompassing sequence exists, is the subject of debate.[17]
Anomalies are abnormal or deviating phenomena that are inconsistent with previous data or cannot be precisely classified or explained.[18]
Classification is the use of categories to organize and describe individual subjects. This can be done descriptively to explain existing differences or prescriptively to create groups in a way that is useful.[19]
Consilience is the process in which distinct findings can produce novel conclusions when considered together.[20]
Explanation is the understanding of why a phenomenon occurs.[24]
Hypotheses are proposals of scientific fact that have yet to be definitively verified.[25]
Objectivity is the answering of scientific questions impartially without affecting the results withbiases.[3]
Confirmation bias is acognitive bias that leads people to seek evidence that supports existing beliefs and interpret new evidence as supporting these beliefs.[26]
Reliability is the consistency in data as it is collected to demonstrate reproducibility.[27]
Scientific laws are descriptions of scientific fact that apply universally under all circumstances.[25]
Scientific theories are descriptions of scientific fact that are known to be true but cannot be proven to apply universally.[25]
Validity is the accurate correspondence and relevance of data to the real-world phenomena it is meant to measure.[28] Valid data is derived from objective observation or experimentation.[29]
Verisimilitude is the degree to which a claim approaches the truth. The verisimilitude between two false ideas can be compared to determine which is less flawed.[30]
Science is divided intodisciplines that explore different subject matter. Each discipline has its own considerations when being studied, and different methods are used between them. Scientists typically specialize in one discipline.[31]Interdisciplinary sciences pull from multiple fields of study.[32]
Technology is the application of science to create products of practical and industrial value.[36] It is sometimes recognized as a field of study distinct from science.[37]
19th century in science – Science first developed in the 19th century as its own subject that encompassed varying fields of inquiry.[55] Biology and chemistry continued a period of growth that had begun in the late-18th century.[56]
20th century in science – Physics became the dominant branch of science in the 20th century through thedevelopment of atomic technology.[57]Logical empiricism was a major influence in the mid-20th century, but it lost favor by the 1970s.[58] Thescience wars were a period of disagreement in the late-20th century about whether mainstream science should be held as an authoritative feature of society.[59]
Anti-realism is the opposition to scientific realism. Anti-realists believe that scientific theories cannot be objectively true or that they do not correlate to objectively real phenomena.[64]
Antiscience is a criticism and rejection of modern science and the scientific community.[65]
Denialism is the rejection of scientific facts that conflict with one's previous beliefs.[66]
Empiricism is the belief that truth is obtained fromsense experience.[67] Empiricists believe that science is a systematic and detailed application of common everyday thought and inquiry.[68]
Constructive empiricism is the belief that scientific theories can be true but successful testing does not affirm their truth.[69]
Operationalism is an empiricist school of thought developed byPercy Williams Bridgman in 1927. It holds that all terms used in science must correspond to an observational test.[71]
Verificationism is the empiricist belief that testability and verifiability must be possible for a claim to have meaning.[72]
Evidentialism is the belief that a claim should only be accepted if there is evidence supporting it.[73]
Holism is the belief that individual scientific claims cannot be understood without also considering related claims, as it is only a network of claims that allows scientific prediction.[75] This argument, theDuhem–Quine thesis, was developed byWillard Van Orman Quine as a response to logical positivism by adapting the philosophy ofPierre Duhem.[76]
Instrumentalism is the belief that science should be used as a guide predict phenomena without presenting it as a means of finding truth.[77]
Thescientific community encompasses scientists, their interactions, and their influences on one another.[86]
Consensus is general agreement among scientists on a conclusion or finding.[87]
Demarcation is the division of scientific and non-scientific ideas, and the resulting dispute over how to divide them.[88] Different fields of study may be evaluated on the level of experimental rigor, how much they engage inabstraction, how closely related they are with thehumanities, or other qualities.[89]
Regulation of science involves the use of policy to limit scientific activity that regulators determine to be dangerous, unethical, or ineffective.[95]
Scientific controversy occurs when multiple schools of thought within a discipline contradict each other. This can include disputes about methods or theory.[96]
Scientific dissent occurs when a scientist disagrees with the scientific community over accepted practices or findings.[97]
HARKing (hypothesizing after results are known) is the practice of writing hypotheses to falsely claim that one had correctly predicted results before testing them.[100]
P-hacking is the selective use or presentation of data to guarantee certain findings.[100]
Scientific papers describe data and findings and compare them to previous hypotheses.[101]
Scientific societies are organizations that emerged in Europe during the mid-17th century as an alternative to universities.[52]
Scientific writing is the recording and description of scientific knowledge or research, written in a way that it can be precisely explained to other members of the scientific community.[106]
Scientists are the practitioners of scientific study. The termscientist was coined byWilliam Whewell in 1840.[1]
Sociology of science considers interactions, incentives, and norms within the scientific community. It was developed as an independent field in the mid-20th century byRobert K. Merton.[107]
Women in science and their role has changed over time. Women were historically excluded from scientific activity in most cases, but an increased role has developed with the rise offeminist movements.[108]
Funding of science can come from both public and private sources, including governments and corporations.[109]
Politicization of science encompasses challenges to scientific activities, or regulations on their practice, for political purposes.[110] This can be instigated by governments, advocacy groups, or the public.[111]
Religion and science are distinguished by science's dependence on known facts and its constraint to explain what can be demonstrated in nature, while religion depends on faith and can be interpreted more broadly.[5][112]
Science communication is the description of science to the general public. It involves the translation of precise technical terms to ones that are more generally understandable to those without background knowledge in a scientific field.[106]
Popular science is a genre of writing on scientific subjects intended for consumption by the general public.[113] It developed in the late-19th and early-20th centuries.[114]
Science policy is thepublic policy governing how science can be conducted. It may be used to organize scientific activity to be more efficient, or to apply science for purposes like economic growth, social benefit, and military strength.[117]
