---
title: "Outline of science"
chunk: 3/4
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_science"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:27:54.489612+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

Consensus is general agreement among scientists on a conclusion or finding.
Demarcation is the division of scientific and non-scientific ideas, and the resulting dispute over how to divide them. Different fields of study may be evaluated on the level of experimental rigor, how much they engage in abstraction, how closely related they are with the humanities, or other qualities.
Funding of science can come from governments and donors.
Junk science is the presentation of uncertain scientific claims as facts, typically to a legal or political end.
List of topics characterized as pseudoscience
Meta-analysis is the comparing of several studies on the same topic to draw conclusions.
A paradigm is the overall understanding and accepted system of how science functions.
Paradigm shifts are historical periods of total change in how science is practiced. The concept was introduced by Thomas Kuhn.
Peer review is a process in which an academic provides feedback on scientific writing, often anonymously, before publication.
Pseudoscience is unscientific practice or belief that is presented as scientific or uses scientific language to suggest credibility.
History of pseudoscience
Regulation of science involves the use of policy to limit scientific activity that regulators determine to be dangerous, unethical, or ineffective.
Scientific controversy occurs when multiple schools of thought within a discipline contradict each other. This can include disputes about methods or theory.
Scientific dissent occurs when a scientist disagrees with the scientific community over accepted practices or findings.
Scientific misconduct is the publication of false, misleading, or plagiarized findings.
List of scientific misconduct incidents
Data fabrication is the use of fake data to present a conclusion.
HARKing (hypothesizing after results are known) is the practice of writing hypotheses to falsely claim that one had correctly predicted results before testing them.
P-hacking is the selective use or presentation of data to guarantee certain findings.
Scientific papers describe data and findings and compare them to previous hypotheses.
Lists of publications in science
Abstracts are summaries of a paper's goals and findings that precede the full paper.
Citation analysis is the tracking of when scientific papers are cited by other papers.
Scientific journals are the primary venue for publishing scientific papers.
Scientific priority is the recognition of a scientist's claim over a discovery.
Scientific societies are organizations that emerged in Europe during the mid-17th century as an alternative to universities.
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.
Scientists are the practitioners of scientific study. The term scientist was coined by William Whewell in 1840.
Sociology of science considers interactions, incentives, and norms within the scientific community. It was developed as an independent field in the mid-20th century by Robert K. Merton.
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 of feminist movements.
Timeline of women in science

== Science in society ==

Funding of science can come from both public and private sources, including governments and corporations.
Politicization of science encompasses challenges to scientific activities, or regulations on their practice, for political purposes. This can be instigated by governments, advocacy groups, or the public.
List of books about the politics of science
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.
Baháʼí and science
Buddhism and science
Christianity and science
Hinduism and science
Islam and science
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.
Popular science is a genre of writing on scientific subjects intended for consumption by the general public. It developed in the late-19th and early-20th centuries.
Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction in which scientific knowledge, ideas, and technology are central in its stories.
Science journalism is the coverage of news about science and scientific developments.
Science policy is the public 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.
History of science policy
Scientific literacy is the ability to understand science, particularly in the context of the general public.

== See also ==

Lists of scientists
Outline of academia
Outline of academic disciplines
Outline of history
Scientific terminology

== Notes ==