science

Process science

Process science is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Process science rather than just read about it. In short: Process science is the method of describing change from an inquiry-oriented process perspective. Process science includes algorithms, heuristics, and sequences found in psychology, linguistics, anthropology, politics, and economics.

Key takeaways

Process science belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Process science to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Process science from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Process science is the method of describing change from an inquiry-oriented process perspective. Process science includes algorithms, heuristics, and sequences found in psychology, linguistics, anthropology, politics, and economics. In sociology, processes are temporal. In computer science, a process is the collective input/output.

Overview

Principles and phases Vom Brocke et al. state that process science has four central tenets:

"Processes are in the focus" A science of discovery (observation), explanation, and investigation Interdisciplinarity A science of social impact Vom Brocke et al. subdivide process science into three phases:

Discovery (emergence) Explanation (dynamics) Intervention (change)

History The term "process science" has been used in different disciplines, including computer science, business process management, and engineering. In a paper published in 2021, a group of scholars from diverse scientific backgrounds used the term to introduce an "interdisciplinary study of continuous change". They envisioned a scientific field that gives primacy to processes at various scales. Implicitly drawing on the tenets of process philosophy, process science works on the premise that the world is in a constant state of change and becoming, and scientific work should target at understanding these processes in the study of phenomena of all kinds. The founding group of the interdisciplinary field of process science includes researchers from social science, management science, and computer science. One of the founding members is the computer scientist Wil van der Aalst.

Other

Process science is an emerging scientific field concerned with studying the nature of change. It provides terminology and develops sets of methods and tools for studying change. Since it is characterized by a highly interdisciplinary approach and a focus on real-world problems, process science can be considered a form of post-disciplinary research. Process science is influenced by numerous fields, including computer science, social science, psychology, natural science, urban science, economics, and engineering. Process science applies the concept of process to recognize sequences of actions (activities taken by specific actors) and events (dynamics that occur in the environment) that unfold over time. Both are abstract categories formed from instantaneous observations or occurrences. Process science aims to identify and optimize opportunities related to digital trace data. It also focuses on collecting and developing various algorithmic techniques to analyze these data. The study of processes has been applied to a diverse range of areas, including technological, economic, political, environmental, social, and human aspects of change. Researchers and practitioners who work on process science-related topics are referred to as process scientists.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Process science

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Process science claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Process science before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Process science ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Process science

In research: Process science appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Process science in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Process science is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Interdisciplinary subfields, Process theory, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Process science outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Process science in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Process science means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Process science out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Process science in simple terms?

Why does Process science matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Process science?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Process science.