规范科学是研究价值或意义（规范），以及如何实现它的科学。规范科学与经验科学的区别，是规范科学研究「应然」，而经验科学研究「实然」。

In the applied sciences, normative science is a type of information that is developed, presented, or interpreted based on an assumed, usually unstated, preference for a particular policy or class of policies. Regular or traditional science does not presuppose a policy preference, but normative science, by definition, does. Common examples of such policy preferences are arguments that pristine ecosystems are preferable to human altered ones, that native species are preferable to nonnative species, and higher biodiversity is preferable to lower biodiversity.