We begin our investigation of the research laboratories by focusing on the overarching purpose for which they were created: to solve complex, interdisciplinary problems. Activities surrounding problem solving drive much of what transpires in these research labs. It has long been a central assumption of cognitive studies of science and technology that the cognitive resources scientists bring to bear in problem solving are not different in kind from those used in more ordinary instances, but rather lie along a continuum. Construing the problem-solving strategies that scientists have developed as sophisticated, highly reflective outgrowths of ordinary reasoning and representational practices allows researchers in this area to both draw from and inform the study of the nature of cognition.

The idea that problem solving plays a significant role in cognitive processes has been central to cognitive psychology since its emergence in the mid-20th century. Earlier, however, the notion that problem solving is an important part of the processes involved in learning, creativity, insight, and cognitive/conceptual change was represented in Dewey's analysis of the essential elements of effective pedagogy in How We Think: