information science: a science in making?

A general observation is that information science is science in making, not yet fully established as a ‘normal science’ in Kuhnian sense: “’normal science’ means research firmly based upon one or more past scientific achievements, achievements that some particular scientific community acknowledges for a time as supplying the foundation for its further practice” (Kuhn, 1970, p.108).

Also, various information problems treated by information science lack a coherent paradigmatic understanding and definition of the information phenomenon: “in the absence of paradigm or some candidate for paradigm, all of the facts that could possibly pertain to the development of a given science are likely to seem equally relevant” (Kuhn, p. 113). As such, the multitude of information problems are addressed by variety of methodologies, conceptually viewpoint, and some theories borrowed by information science practitioners from other social and natural sciences with which information science has interdisciplinary relations.

Kuhn, T. (1970). Chapter 2: The Route to Normal Science, Structure of Scientific Revolutions 2/E, 2(2) 10-22. University of Chicago Press