Scientific knowledge must be based on observable phenomena and must be capable of being verified by other researchers working under the same conditions.[2] This verifiability may well vary even within a scientific discipline.[3][4]
Unlike other branches, the formal sciences are not concerned with the validity of theories based on observations in the real world (empirical knowledge), but rather with the properties of formal systems based on definitions and rules. Hence there is disagreement on whether the formal sciences actually constitute as a science. Methods of the formal sciences are, however, essential to the construction and testing of scientific models dealing with observable reality,[6] and major advances in formal sciences have often enabled major advances in the empirical sciences.
Information science is an academic field which is primarily concerned with analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval, movement, dissemination, and protection of information. Practitioners within and outside the field study the application and the usage of knowledge in organizations in addition to the interaction between people, organizations, and any existing information systems with the aim of creating, replacing, improving, or understanding the information systems.
Mathematics, in the broadest sense, is just a synonym of formal science; but traditionally mathematics means more specifically the coalition of four areas: arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and analysis, which are, to some degree, the study of quantity, structure, space, and change respectively.
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, and interpretation of data.[10][11] It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments.[10]
A statistician is someone who is particularly well versed in the ways of thinking necessary for the successful application of statistical analysis. Such people have often gained this experience through working in any of a wide number of fields. There is also a discipline called mathematical statistics, which is concerned with the theoretical basis of the subject.
The word statistics, when referring to the scientific discipline, is singular, as in "Statistics is an art."[12] This should not be confused with the word statistic, referring to a quantity (such as mean or median) calculated from a set of data,[13] whose plural is statistics ("this statistic seems wrong" or "these statistics are misleading").
Systems theory is the transdisciplinary study of systems in general, to elucidate principles that can be applied to all types of systems in all fields of research. The term does not yet have a well-established, precise meaning, but systems theory can reasonably be considered a specialization of systems thinking and a generalization of systems science. The term originates from Bertalanffy's General System Theory (GST) and is used in later efforts in other fields, such as the action theory of Talcott Parsons and the sociological autopoiesis of Niklas Luhmann.
In this context the word systems is used to refer specifically to self-regulating systems, i.e. that are self-correcting through feedback. Self-regulating systems are found in nature, including the physiological systems of the human body, in local and global ecosystems, and climate.
Decision theory (or the theory of choice not to be confused with choice theory) is the study of an agent's choices.[14] Decision theory can be broken into two branches: normative decision theory, which analyzes the outcomes of decisions or determines the optimal decisions given constraints and assumptions, and descriptive decision theory, which analyzes how agents actually make the decisions they do.
Decision theory is closely related to the field of game theory[15] and is an interdisciplinary topic, studied by economists, statisticians, psychologists, biologists,[16] political and other social scientists, philosophers,[17] and computer scientists.
Empirical applications of this rich theory are usually done with the help of statistical and econometric methods.
Natural science is a branch of science concerned with the description, prediction, and understanding of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatability of findings are used to try to ensure the validity of scientific advances.
Natural science can be divided into two main branches: life science and physical science. Life science is alternatively known as biology, and physical science is subdivided into branches: physics, chemistry, astronomy and Earth science. These branches of natural science may be further divided into more specialized branches (also known as fields)
Physical science is an encompassing term for the branches of natural science that study non-living systems, in contrast to the life sciences. However, the term "physical" creates an unintended, somewhat arbitrary distinction, since many branches of physical science also study biological phenomena. There is a difference between physical science and physics.
Earth science (also known as geoscience, the geosciences or the Earth sciences) is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planetEarth.[25] It is arguably a special case in planetary science, the Earth being the only known life-bearing planet. There are both reductionist and holistic approaches to Earth sciences. The formal discipline of Earth sciences may include the study of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere, as well as the solid earth. Typically Earth scientists will use tools from physics, chemistry, biology, geography, chronology and mathematics to build a quantitative understanding of how the Earth system works, and how it evolved to its current state.
Oceanography, or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean. It covers a wide range of topics, including marine organisms and ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics; plate tectonics and the geology of the seafloor; and fluxes of various chemical substances and physical properties within the ocean and across its boundaries. These diverse topics reflect multiple disciplines that oceanographers blend to further knowledge of the world ocean and understanding of processes within it: biology, chemistry, geology, meteorology, and physics as well as geography.
Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 17th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries. After the development of the computer in the latter half of the 20th century, breakthroughs in weather forecasting were achieved.
Botany, also called plant science(s), plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. Traditionally, botany has also included the study of fungi and algae by mycologists and phycologists respectively, with the study of these three groups of organisms remaining within the sphere of interest of the International Botanical Congress. Nowadays, botanists (in the strict sense) study approximately 410,000 species of land plants of which some 391,000 species are vascular plants (including approximately 369,000 species of flowering plants),[35] and approximately 20,000 are bryophytes.[36]
Positivist social scientists use methods resembling those of the natural sciences as tools for understanding society, and so define science in its stricter modern sense. Interpretivist social scientists, by contrast, may use social critique or symbolic interpretation rather than constructing empirically falsifiable theories. In modern academic practice, researchers are often eclectic, using multiple methodologies (for instance, by combining both quantitative and qualitative research). The term "social research" has also acquired a degree of autonomy as practitioners from various disciplines share in its aims and methods.
Applied science is the use of existing scientific knowledge to achieve practical goals, like technology or inventions.
Within natural science, disciplines that are basic science develop basic information to explain and perhaps predict phenomena in the natural world. Applied science is the use of scientific processes and knowledge as the means to achieve a particularly practical or useful result. This includes a broad range of applied science-related fields, including agricultural science, engineering and medicine.
Metascience refers to or includes a field of science that is about science itself. OpenAlex and Scholia can be used to visualize and explore scientific fields and research topics.
Cluster network of scientific publications in relation to Nobel prizes[40]
A visualization of scientific outputs by field in OpenAlex.[41] A study can be part of multiple fields and lower numbers of papers is not necessarily detrimental for fields.
Graph illustrating the recent development or history of scientific outputs based on data in OpenAlex.org[41]
^Also related to λόγος (logos), "word, thought, idea, argument, account, reason, or principle." (Liddell and Scott, 1999).
^Richard Feynman begins his Lectures with the atomic hypothesis, as his most compact statement of all scientific knowledge: "If, in some cataclysm, all of scientific knowledge were to be destroyed, and only one sentence passed on to the next generations ..., what statement would contain the most information in the fewest words? I believe it is ... that all things are made up of atoms – little particles that move around in perpetual motion, attracting each other when they are a little distance apart, but repelling upon being squeezed into one another. ..."[19]
^The term 'universe' is defined as everything that physically exists: the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter, energy and momentum, and the physical laws and constants that govern them. However, the term 'universe' may also be used in slightly different contextual senses, denoting concepts such as the cosmos or the philosophical world
^Evidence exists that the earliest civilizations dating back to beyond 3000 BCE, such as the Sumerians, Ancient Egyptians, and the Indus Valley civilization, all had a predictive knowledge and a very basic understanding of the motions of the Sun, Moon, and stars.
^The pronunciation of zoology as /zuˈɒlədʒi/ is typically regarded as nonstandard, though is not uncommon.
^In Ernst Haeckel's (1866) footnote where the term ecology originates, he also gives attribute to Ancient Greek: χώρας, romanized: khōrā, lit. 'χωρα', meaning "dwelling place, distributional area" —quoted from Stauffer (1957).
^"Statistic". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 29 March 2024.
^Steele, Katie and Stefánsson, H. Orri, "Decision Theory", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2015 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = [1]
^Myerson, Roger B. (1991). "1.2: Basic concepts of Decision Theory". Game theory analysis of conflict. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN9780674728615.
^
H.D. Young; R.A. Freedman (2004). University Physics with Modern Physics (11th ed.). Addison Wesley. p. 2. Physics is an experimental science. Physicists observe the phenomena of nature and try to find patterns and principles that relate these phenomena. These patterns are called physical theories or, when they are very well established and of broad use, physical laws or principles.
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