Table 3.

Comparison of the LDA topic modeling results and the NOS framework behind the VNOS-C questionnaire

NOS framework	Previous researchers used VNOS to obtain the NOS view		LDA topic modeling results
	More naive views	More informed views	More naive views	More informed views	Mixed views
The Empirical Nature of Scientific Knowledge	• Science is concerned with facts. We use observed facts to prove that theories are true (Bell et al., 2011; Lederman et al., 2002) • Science is concerned only with experiments and mathematical numbers in the laboratory (Mesci, 2020)	• Much of the development of scientific knowledge depends on observation….[But] I think what we observe is a function of convention. I don’t believe that the goal of science is (or should be) the accumulation of observable facts (Lederman et al., 2002 • Rather…science involves abstraction, one step of abstraction after another (Lederman et al., 2002) • Science is not limited to studying only visible events. Although scientists do not directly see many cases with their eyes, they make observations and explanations based on empirical data as a result of these observations. For example, scientists recently found a new planet for a long years later based on observations (Bell et al., 2011)	Topic 2 Topic 10		Topic 6 Topic 9
Observation, Inference, and Theoretical Entities in Science	• Scientists are quite certain about the structure of the atom. First scientists only had theories of how the atom was constructed until they were able to use very powerful microscopes to see how they were constructed (Lederman et al., 2002) • Scientists are strongly sure of the structure of an atom due to chemical structures observed among the elements. The electron microscope presented strong evidence (visually) of the structure (Lederman et al., 2002)	• Science is based on observations by sensory organs and technological instruments, and inferences are made by associating these observations with existing knowledge. (Mesci, 2020)	Topic 5	Topic 7
Scientific Theories and Laws	• Newton’s Law #1 is proven and through various testing and experiments it has come to be known as a proven law. Theories, however, have not been proved enough to be changed into laws (Bell et al., 2011) • A scientific law is somewhat set in stone, proven to be true…A scientific theory is apt to change and be proven false at any time. (Mesci, 2020) • Scientific theories are not accepted by everyone, while scientific laws are proven and accepted by everyone (Lederman et al., 2002)	• A scientific law describes quantitative relationships between phenomena such as universal attraction between objects. Scientific theories are made of concepts that are in accordance with common observation or go beyond and propose new explanatory models for the world (Lederman et al., 2002)	Topic 4
The Theory-Laden Nature of Scientific Knowledge	• [Scientists reach different conclusions] because the scientists were not around when the dinosaurs became extinct, so no one witnessed what happened….I think the only way to give a satisfactory answer to the extinction of the dinosaurs is to go back in time to witness what happened (Lederman et al., 2002)	• Both conclusions are possible because there may be different interpretations of the same data. Different scientists may come up with different explanations based on their own education and background or what they feel are inconsistencies in others ideas (Lederman et al., 2002)	Topic 3
The Social and Cultural Embeddedness of Scientific Knowledge	• Science is about the facts and could not be influenced by cultures and society (Lederman et al., 2002)	• Of course culture influence the ideas in science. It was more than a 100 years after Copernicus that his ideas were considered because religious beliefs of the church sort of favored the geocentric model (Lederman et al., 2002)		Topic 12
The Myth of The Scientific Method	• Science has a particular method of going about things, the scientific method (Lederman et al., 2002)	• When you are in sixth grade you learn that here is the scientific method and the first thing you do this, and the second thing you do that and so on…That’s how we may say we do science, but [it is different from]…the way that we actually do science (Lederman et al., 2002)	Topic 6 Topic 8 Topic 9
The Tentative Nature of Scientific Knowledge	• Scientific knowledge is certain, and does not change in any way, because it is the same everywhere (Mesci, 2020)	• Everything in science is subject to change with new evidence and interpretation of that evidence. We are never 100% sure about anything because…negative evidence will call a theory or law into question, and possibly cause a modification (Lederman et al., 2002)		Topic 1
The Creative and Imaginative Nature of Scientific Knowledge	• Scientific studies develop in the direction of logic and proof, so there is no room for imagination and creativity in science. Science is expressed in definite mathematical numbers. (Mesci, 2020)	• Logic plays a large role in the scientific process, but imagination and creativity are essential for the formulation of novel ideas …to explain why the results were observed (Lederman et al., 2002) • Scientists use imagination and creativity in their work. Creativity and imagination play an important role at every moment of a study. Research questions, the procedures, results, and conclusions are shaped by creativity and imagination. (Mesci, 2020)
The Nature of Scientific Theory	• A theory is an untested idea, or an idea that is undergoing additional tests, generally it hasn’t been proved to the satisfaction of the scientific community (Lederman et al., 2002)	• In the vocabulary of a scientist the word theory is used differently than in the general population. It does not mean someone’s idea that can’t be proven. It is a concept that has considerable evidence behind it and has endured the attempts to disprove it (Lederman et al., 2002)	Topic 1 Topic 11