Web science is the study of the World Wide Web (“Web”) to understand what the Web is and to explore topics related to the impact the Web has on society and technology.
Web science courses may vary from one educational institution to another, but students will generally learn and discuss topics that include the growth of the Web, different Web architectures, engineering the Web, Web governance and the social aspects of the Web.
The general approach of Web Science is to understand that the Web is not a thing or object, but rather a continuously changing large-scale structure that is dependent on both emerging protocols and core standards and protocols such as URIs, HTML and HTTP. Typical components of Web science includes computer science, Web engineering, mathematics, physics, sociology, media and economics.
The History of the Phrase Web Science
Tim Berners-Lee is credited with being the first to define Web science. According to Berners-Lee, the web is seen as a complex object and Web science is about studying the web almost as an external object to understand its properties and dynamics. He also said that Web science should propose and engineer solutions to make the Web work better and also better serve humanity.
