The roles of epistemic understanding and research skills in students’ views of scientific thinking

Abstract

Scientific thinking is about understanding the ways knowledge is produced, used and justified in our society. It is also about what knowledge itself is. Thus, students’ epistemic understanding and their understanding of research play central roles in the development of scientific thinking. This chapter sheds light on the phenomena of epistemic understanding and research-based thinking from the viewpoints of students. We present data on how students conceptualise scientific thinking and the roles that epistemic understanding and research-based thinking play in their views. We see epistemic understanding and research-based thinking as cornerstones of scientific thinking and argue that in addition to developing research methodology teaching, more attention should be paid to increase both university teachers’ and students’ awareness of epistemic understanding.