Research on Nature of Science: Reflections on the Past, Anticipations of the Future

Defining the Construct

Before summarizing the research on NOS it will be important to provide some general parameters for the meaning of the construct. What is NOS? It might help to back-up to the proverbial question, “What is Science?” The most common answer to this question in the literature is: 1) Body of Knowledge, 2) Method/Inquiry, and 3) Way of Knowing. NOS typically refers to the characteristics of scientific knowledge that are derived from how the knowledge is developed (i.e., scientific inquiry). What follows is a brief consideration of these characteristics of science and scientific knowledge related to what students should know. It is important to note that the aspects of NOS described below are not meant as a comprehensive listing. There are other aspects that some researchers include or delete (Osborne, Collins, Ratcliffe, Millar, & Duschl, 2003; Scharmann & Smith, 1999). The primary purpose here is not to emphasize one listing versus another, but to provide a frame of reference that helps delineate NOS from scientific inquiry (and processes of science) and the resulting body of knowledge.

My research team and colleagues over the past 20 years have focused on the following characteristics of scientific knowledge in our research on nature of science:

The distinction between observation and inference
The relationship and distinction between scientific laws and theories
Scientific knowledge is, at least partially, based on and/or derived from human imagination and creativity.
Scientific knowledge necessarily is partially subjective and can never be totally objective.
Science as a human enterprise is practiced in the context of a larger culture and its practitioners (scientists) are the product of that culture. Science, it follows, affects and is affected by the various elements and intellectual spheres of the culture in which it is embedded.
Scientific knowledge is never absolute or certain; it is subject to change.
Scientific knowledge is empirically based.

It is important to note that individuals often conflate NOS with science processes or scientific inquiry. Although these aspects of science overlap and interact in important ways, it is nonetheless important to distinguish the two. Scientific processes are activities related to collecting and analyzing data, and drawing conclusions (AAAS, 1990, 1993; NRC, 1996). For example, observing and inferring are scientific processes. More complex than individual processes, scientific inquiry involves various science processes used in a cyclical manner. On the other hand, NOS refers to the epistemological underpinnings of the activities of science and the characteristics of the resulting knowledge. Perhaps, the phrase “nature of science” has caused the confusion and the phrase “nature of scientific knowledge” might be more accurate. The conflation of NOS and scientific inquiry has plagued research on NOS from the beginning.