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Conceptual review on scientific reasoning and scientific thinking

• Published: 30 April 2021
• Volume 42 , pages 4313–4325, ( 2023 )

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• Carlos Díaz 1 , 2 ,
• Birgit Dorner 3 ,
• Heinrich Hussmann 4 &
• Jan-Willem Strijbos 1 , 5  

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When conducting a systematic analysis of the concept of scientific reasoning (SR), we found confusion regarding the definition of the concept, its characteristics and its blurred boundaries with the concept of scientific thinking (ST). Furthermore, some authors use the concepts as synonyms. These findings raised three issues we aimed to answer in the present study: (1) are SR and ST the same concept, (2) if not, what are the differences between them, and (3) how can SR and ST be characterised and operationalised for systematic research? We conducted a conceptual review using an integrative approach to analyse 166 texts. First, we found that thinking and reasoning might refer to different processes. Likewise, SR and ST can be characterised as distinct concepts. Furthermore, the review identified that differences found between the concepts of SR and ST are grounded in ontological and epistemological perspectives.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by XXX [Project number: NNN], Institution1, and Institution2.

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The authors declare that the data supporting the findings of this study as well as the coding schema used for analysing it are available within the article, and the article’s supplementary information files.

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Carlos Díaz & Jan-Willem Strijbos

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Carlos Díaz

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Birgit Dorner

Media Informatics Group, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany

Heinrich Hussmann

Department of Educational Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands

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Díaz, C., Dorner, B., Hussmann, H. et al. Conceptual review on scientific reasoning and scientific thinking. Curr Psychol 42 , 4313–4325 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01786-5

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Accepted : 21 April 2021

Published : 30 April 2021

Issue Date : February 2023

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01786-5

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