Editing Science studies (section)

{{Short description|Research area analyzing scientific expertise}}
{{See also|Science and technology studies|Technology and society|Sociology of scientific knowledge|Social construction of technology}}
{{distinguish|Metascience|Scientology}}
{{Cleanup rewrite|the article does not provide a coherent and comprehensive account of science studies|date=September 2019}}
{{Sociology}}
'''Science studies'''  is an [[interdisciplinarity|interdisciplinary]] research area that seeks to situate scientific [[expertise]] in broad social, historical, and philosophical contexts. It uses various methods to analyze the production, representation and reception of scientific knowledge and its [[epistemology|epistemic]] and [[semiotics|semiotic]] role.

Similarly to [[cultural studies]], science studies are defined by the subject of their research and encompass a large range of different theoretical and methodological perspectives and practices. The interdisciplinary approach may include and borrow methods from the humanities, natural and formal sciences, from [[scientometrics]] to [[ethnomethodology]] or [[cognitive science]]. 

Science studies have a certain importance for [[evaluation]] and science policy. Overlapping with the field of [[science, technology and society]], practitioners study the relationship between science and technology, and the interaction of expert and lay knowledge in the public realm.