The Hidden Lessons of Scientific Writing: How Language Can Shape What Students Learn About the Nature of Science

Abstract Scientific writing and reading scientific literature are important ways for university students to learn about science. However, common scientific writing practices may shape students’ understanding of the nature of science (NOS) in unintended ways. In this study, we investigated epistemological notions underlying scientific writing practices of biomedical bachelor’s students. We examined bachelor’s theses, as exemplars of how students apply what they learned about scientific writing and compared them with students’ explicit views expressed in interviews and written reflections. We tentatively conclude that bachelor’s students generally use conventional writing practices, such as the avoidance of first-person pronouns and reliance on objective language. These practices often seem to convey epistemological notions that are largely inconsistent with students’ explicit views of NOS and that regularly misrepresent contemporary understandings of, for example, the inferential, tentative, and socially constructed nature of science. In interviews, students regularly struggled to reconcile this discrepancy between scientific writing practices and their views of NOS. The main value of this study lies in providing initial evidence for the concept of epistemological notions and highlighting it as an important area for future research within NOS scholarship. Additionally, we discuss implications for science education and propose strategies for improving the integration of epistemological awareness in scientific writing instruction. Scientific writing lessons can be used for explicit reflection on what constitutes scientific knowledge, which research practices are considered rigorous, the epistemic and non-epistemic values of science, and the role of inference, theory, and social negotiation in the creation and acceptance of scientific knowledge.