Science

Science (knowledge creating ) is the extension of knowledge through research ( for new knowledge seeking), its dissemination through teaching, the social, historical and institutional context in which it is operated organized, as well as the entirety of the thus acquired knowledge. Research is the methodical search for new knowledge as well as their systematic documentation and publication in the form of scientific papers. Teaching is passing on the basics of scientific investigation and provided an overview of the knowledge of a research field ( the so-called current state of research ).

Scientific enterprise

An early documented form of organized science related teaching activities can be found in ancient Greece with the Platonic Academy, which (with interruptions ) lasted until late antiquity. Modern science traditionally takes place at universities, now also at other universities, which go back to this idea. Besides knowledge are creating people (scientists ) and in academies, agencies, privately funded research institutions with consulting firms and engaged in business. In Germany, a major public " funding agency " the German Research Foundation, the project- related research is promoting at universities and non-university institutions. There are also " research support organizations " such as the Fraunhofer Society, the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres, the Max Planck Society and the Leibniz Association, the - funded by federal and state governments - conduct their own research institutes. In Austria, the DFG correspond to the Fund for the Promotion of Scientific Research ( FWF ) and the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG ) in Switzerland and France, the National Research Fund. Other funds are doped, for example, of large industries or the European Patent Office.

In addition to scientific publications, the exchange with other researchers carried out by professional conferences, at meetings of the international umbrella organizations and scientific unions (eg IUGG, COSPAR, IUPsyS, ISWA, SSRN ) or the UN organization. Also, invitations to seminars, Institute visits, working groups or visiting professorships play a role. Of great importance are abroad and international research projects.

For a number of interdisciplinary research institutes were created in recent decades in which industrial and university research interact ( knowledge transfer ). To some extent have companies also have their own research facilities where basic research is carried out.

The actual participation in the scientific community is in principle not subject to conditions or conditions: The scientific activity outside the academic or industrial scientific enterprise is open to everyone and is also legally covered by the freedom of research. Universities also offer the unconditional participation in the teaching as a guest student. Significant scientific achievements outside of a professional framework, however, have remained very much the exception. The state- paid professional activity as a scientist is usually tied to the condition of the completion of studies, for which in turn the higher education is necessary. Senior publicly funded positions in research and the application of public research funds require the promotion, the Chair habilitation. In the United States finds itself instead of habilitation the tenure-track system, which should be introduced in the form of junior professorships in Germany in 2002, but is being criticized that a regular tenure track, in which the young scientists in the case of corresponding benefits for permanent employment is guaranteed in Germany continues to constitute an exception.

Accordingly, the science certainly represents a certain conjunctures underlying labor market, in which in particular the young, given the small number of permanent employment received a high risk. Especially the increased participation of women in doctoral and postdoctoral and associated with the newer higher education policy developments focusing and thus pruning the thematic breadth of teaching and research on this to an increased pressure of competition.

Obtained for the Science Policy at the importance of science research to examine the scientific practice with empirical methods and describe attempted. Among other methods come of Scientometrics used. The results of scientific research have in the evaluation of influencing decisions.

Social issues within the academic community as well as the social contexts and relationships between science, politics and society Other examines the sociology of knowledge.

Philosophy of Science

The scientific theory is a branch of philosophy that deals with the self- understanding of science in the form of analysis of their requirements, methods and goals. Particularly their claim to truth is questioned critically. For the research, the search for new knowledge, especially the question of the methods and conditions of gaining knowledge of meaning. This question is dealt with in the theory of knowledge.

Research

The research begins with a question that may arise from previous research, a discovery or from everyday life. The first step is to describe the research question, to enable a targeted approach. Research is progressing in small steps: The research problem is decomposed into several self-contained sub-problems that can be processed sequentially or in parallel by several researchers. In an attempt to solve his part of the problem, the scientists is in principle free to choose the method. It is only essential that the application of his method leads to a theory that makes the objective, that is, intersubjective, verifiable and comprehensible statements about a general state of affairs and that appropriate control experiments were performed.

If a subproblem is solved to the satisfaction of, the phase of the publication begins. Traditionally, researchers drawn to itself a manuscript on the results of his work. This consists of a systematic presentation of the sources used, the methods used, the performed experiments and control experiments with full disclosure of the experimental setup, the observed phenomena ( measurement, interview ), possibly the statistical analysis, description of the established theory and the review carried out in this theory. Overall, the research project should therefore be possible fully documented so that other researchers and scientists can understand the work.

Once the manuscript was finished placed, it is sufficient to researchers at a book publisher, a scientific journal or conference for publication. There first decides the editor whether the work suitable for example for the magazine is at all interesting enough and thematically. If this criterion is fulfilled, it is sufficient to work for the assessment (English peer review ) to several reviewers on. This can be done anonymously (without mention of the author ). Check the evaluators, whether the representation is transparent and without omissions and whether evaluations and conclusions are correct. A member of the editorial committee of the journal acts as a middleman between the researcher and the reviewers. The researcher thus has the opportunity to improve gross errors before the work is made available to a wider group. When the process is complete, the manuscript is set and printed in the magazine. The now accessible to everyone results of the work can now be further reviewed and raise new research questions.

The process of research is accompanied by the Permanent lively exchange among scientists of the edited research field. At conferences the researcher has the opportunity to make its solutions to the research problems he has edited ( or insight into his current solution attempts), a circle of colleagues to access and share them with opinions, ideas and advice. In addition, the Internet, which consists essentially of research networks, significantly influenced the exchange among scientists. While e- mail has already allowed the personal exchange of messages very early in near real time, also e- mail discussion lists on specialized topics enjoyed great popularity (originally from 1986 to LISTSERV - based in BITNET ).

Teaching

Teaching is the activity in which a scientist passes on the methods of research to students and give them presents an overview of the current state of research in his field. These include

• The preparation of textbooks, in which he lays down his knowledge and findings in writing and
• The mediation of the substance in direct contact with the students through lectures, exercises, tutorials, seminars and practicals, etc. These events organize the respective lecturers independently and lead possibly even self- tests ( " academic freedom " within the meaning of Article 5 para. 3 sentence 1 Var. 4 of the Constitution ).

Among the requirements for participation in the teaching as a student and the forms and procedures see study.

Values ​​of science

A classic ideal - which goes back to Aristotle - is the complete neutrality of research. You should autonomously, pure, Prerequisite and value- free ( " tabula rasa ").

This is not entirely possible in practice and sometimes criticized. Even the selection of the research object can be subject to subjective assessments, which represents the neutrality of the results in question. An example of this is the fact that male primate researchers in the 1950s and 1960s mainly studied baboons, which are known for their dominant males. Female Primatologinnen in the 1970s, however, examined preferably species with dominant females (eg langurs ). The fact that the intentions of the researchers are also aimed at relationships to the gender roles of men, is obvious.

Karl Popper looked at the value of the values ​​of freedom as a paradox and took the position that research should be guided positively of interests, purposes, and thus a sense (search for truth, solving problems, reduction of evils and sorrow ), while possibly quite unconscious, negative consequences or incorrect assumptions are always a critique accessible. Science so shall therefore always assume a critical attitude towards their own as strange results.

Richard Feynman criticized the meaningless become research practice of so designated by him Cargo Cult Science, uncritically accepted and assumed in the research, so that although superficially a methodologically correct research takes place, but the scientific integrity has been lost.

To deliberate falsification of research results see fraud and forgery in science.

With weapons of mass destruction, genetic engineering and stem cell research are in the course of the 20th century increasing questions about ethical limits of science (see Science Ethics ) emerged.

Areas of science

Already Aristotle divided the sciences into sections, so-called special sciences. The classic modern division of differentiated natural sciences, humanities and social sciences, with the increasing scientific nature were added agriculture, engineering, economics, law, and medicine. About this, there are various dedicated organizations that are no longer uniform. With an increasing trend towards further specialization, the current situation has become very dynamic and hardly manageable. Historically, the different areas, all of philosophy arose, especially natural philosophy and science have long been in the natural history closely linked.

The division of science is particularly important for organizational purposes ( faculties, departments ) and for the systematic order of publications of importance (eg Dewey Decimal Classification, Universal Decimal Classification ).

Increasingly, there is also the aspiration to establish cross-disciplinary areas and to link such findings of individual studies profitably.

Standardized classifications

Out of a need, data on research institutions, research results, etc. statistically to collect and make internationally comparable effort, experiments have shown to classify the various sciences. One of the resulting, binding for statisticians classifications of branches of science, for example, the 2002 set by the OECD FOS (Fields of Science and Technology).