Science and Technology Studies Commons^™

Ship Space To Database: Motivations To Manage Research Data For The Deep Subseafloor Biosphere, Peter Darch, Christine Borgman

Peter Darch

What motivates the building of databases by scientific collaborations? In this paper, we argue that not only are databases being built to support scientific work per se, but also with the intention of performing a variety of social functions. To explore this, we present findings from a longitudinal ethnographic case study of a large, multidisciplinary, distributed scientific project studying subseafloor microbial life. A critical element of this project’s Data Management Plan is the construction of a data portal. We found a range of factors motivating not only the very construction of this portal, but also the inclusion of particular features. …

Managing The Public To Manage Data: Citizen Science And Astronomy, Peter Darch

Peter Darch

Citizen Cyberscience Projects (CCPs) that recruit members of the public as volunteers to process and produce large datasets promise a great deal of benefits to scientists and science. However, if this promise is to be realised, and citizen science-produced datasets are to be widely-used by scientists, it is essential that these datasets win the trust of the scientific community. This task of securing credibility involves, in part, applying standard scientific procedures to clean-up datasets formed by volunteer contributions. However, the management of volunteers’ behaviour in terms of how they contribute also plays a significant role in improving both the quality …

Opening Up A Dark Habitat And Opening Up Data: The Co-Emergence Of Scientific Collaboration, Infrastructure For Data-Sharing, And Data-Sharing Practices, Peter Darch

Peter Darch

Allied to the movement promoting Open Access publishing is the Open Data movement, which aims to facilitate and encourage the open sharing of research data amongst scientists across multiple disciplines and institutions. Studies of scientists’ data practices link barriers to data-sharing with lack of appropriate infrastructure, cultural issues regarding norms and reward structures, and lack of trust amongst researchers. However, there have been fewer studies of actual instances of successful data-sharing. Furthermore, little attention has been paid to the implications of successful data-sharing for the structures of collaborative scientific work.

This paper will present findings from a longitudinal ethnographic case …

Ship Space And Database: The Co-Shaping Of Spatial Configurations Aboard Ocean Drilling Cruise Ships And Material Artifacts Of Practice In Onshore Laboratories, Peter Darch

Peter Darch

This paper presents a longitudinal ethnographic study of a large, multidisciplinary scientific project studying subseafloor microbial life.

To study this life, scientists need rock and water samples taken from the seafloor. To collect these samples, scientists participate in ocean drilling cruises, such as those carried out as part of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP). The IODP and its forerunners have been operating since the 1960s. Initially, these cruises only involved physical scientists (such as geochemists). In recent years, microbiologists have become part of these cruises. This has involved reallocating space on cruise ships to the construction of a microbiology …

Managing The Public To Manage Data: Citizen Science And Astronomy, Peter Darch

Peter Darch

Citizen Cyberscience Projects (CCPs) that recruit members of the public as volunteers to process and produce large datasets promise a great deal of benefits to scientists and science. However, if this promise is to be realised, and citizen science-produced datasets are to be widely-used by scientists, it is essential that these datasets win the trust of the scientific community. This task of securing credibility involves, in part, applying standard scientific procedures to clean-up datasets formed by volunteer contributions. However, the management of volunteers’ behaviour in terms of how they contribute also plays a significant role in improving both the quality …

The Ups And Downs Of Knowledge Infrastructures In Science: Implications For Data Management, Christine Borgman, Peter Darch, Ashley Sands, Jillian Wallis, Sharon Traweek

Peter Darch

The promise of technology-enabled, data-intensive scholarship is predicated upon access to knowledge infrastructures that are not yet in place. Scientific data management requires expertise in the scientific domain and in organizing and retrieving complex research objects. The Knowledge Infrastructures project compares data management activities of four large, distributed, multidisciplinary scientific endeavors as they ramp their activities up or down; two are big science and two are small science. Research questions address digital library solutions, knowledge infrastructure concerns, issues specific to individual domains, and common problems across domains. Findings are based on interviews (n=113 to date), ethnography, and other analyses of …

Buried Deep: How Data About Subseafloor Life Becomes Dark And Why, Peter Darch, Rebekah Cummings

Peter Darch

Earth scientists increasingly work in distributed, multidisciplinary projects. To promote the sharing of data across such a project, it is vital to improve long-term preservation of data in formats accessible to scientists in multiple disciplines with diverse needs, tools and scientific practices. When developing data management plans and infrastructure, it is important to ask: - What data are generated? - Where are these data preserved and shared? - What are the processes by which these data become 'dark'? - What are the infrastructural and social factors that shape these processes? In response to these questions, we present findings from the …

Becoming Hyperdisciplinary, Peter Darch

Peter Darch

No abstract provided.

Communication And Collaboration In E-Science Projects, Peter Darch, Matteo Turilli, Marina Jirotka

Peter Darch

Collaborative projects, such as e-Science projects producing software and tools to support the work of scientists, involve the management and coordination of work of a wide range of personnel, and also involve these personnel working together on joint activities. Effective communication practices are essential for the success of e-Science projects, for a number of reasons and in a number of different senses. For instance, there will be many one-way transfers of information, such as project management informing new personnel of the project’s vision and goals, the communication of work plans (including individuals’ roles, the model of software development employed by …

Retaining Volunteers In Volunteer Computing Projects, Peter Darch, Annamaria Carusi

Peter Darch

Volunteer computing projects (VCPs) have been set up by groups of scientists to recruit members of the public who are asked to donate spare capacity on their personal computers to the processing of scientific data or computationally intensive models. VCPs serve two purposes: to acquire significant computing capacity and to educate the public about science. A particular challenge for these scientists is the retention of volunteers as there is a very high drop-out rate. This paper develops recommendations for scientists and software engineers setting up or running VCPs regarding which strategies to pursue in order to improve volunteer retention rates. …

Communication And Collaboration In E-Science Projects: A Report From The 'Embedding E-Science: Designing And Managing For Usability' Project, Peter Darch, Matteo Turilli, Sharon Lloyd, Marina Jirotka, Grace De La Flor

Peter Darch

No abstract provided.

Shared Understandings In E-Science Projects: A Report From The 'Embedding E-Science Applications: Designing And Managing For Usability' Project, Peter Darch, Annamaria Carusi, Sharon Lloyd, Marina Jirotka, Grace De La Flor, Ralph Schroeder, Eric Meyer

Peter Darch

No abstract provided.

Shared Understanding Of End-Users' Requirements In E-Science Projects, Peter Darch, Annamaria Carusi, Marina Jirotka

Peter Darch

The acquisition by developers of e-science applications of a thorough understanding of the requirements of end-users has been recognized as playing a critical role in the usability of such applications. However, there is another dimension to such an understanding that also plays an important role, namely the extent to which these developers converge on a shared understanding of these requirements. This paper considers why such a shared understanding is important, and highlights possible obstacles to this that may arise in the context of e-science projects. A research project, consisting of qualitative case studies of two projects, is being undertaken, with …

Retaining Participants In Volunteer Computing Projects, Peter Darch

Peter Darch

Volunteer computing projects (VCPs) have been set up by groups of scientists to recruit members of the public who are asked to donate spare capacity on their personal computers to the processing of scientific data or computationally intensive models. VCPs serve two purposes: to acquire significant computing capacity and to educate the public about science. A particular challenge for these scientists is the retention of volunteers as there is a very high drop-out rate. This paper develops recommendations for scientists and software engineers setting up or running VCPs regarding which strategies to pursue in order to improve volunteer retention rates. …

Scientists’ Understanding Of The Public: Changing Perceptions In A Volunteer Computing Project, Peter Darch

Peter Darch

No abstract provided.

A Climate Of Trust: Perceptions Of Legitimate Authority In A Volunteer Computing Project, Peter Darch, Annamaria Carusi, Marina Jirotka

Peter Darch

Volunteer computing projects are computationally-intensive scientific research projects which seek to meet their need for data processing capacity by asking members of the public to download and process project data on their personal computers. This paper presents findings from a study of the interactions in an online forum of participants in such a project, climateprediction.net. It focuses upon the beliefs of one group of participants, who have been identified as particularly critical to the success of volunteer computing projects, about the organizational policies of climateprediction.net and what are appropriate and inappropriate ways for other participants to behave in the forums.

A Climate Of Trust: Perceptions Of Legitimate Authority In A Volunteer Computing Project, Peter Darch, Annamaria Carusi, Marina Jirotka

Peter Darch

Volunteer computing projects are computationally-intensive scientific research projects which seek to meet their need for data processing capacity by asking members of the public to download and process project data on their personal computers. This paper presents findings from a study of the interactions in an online forum of participants in such a project, climateprediction.net. It focuses upon the beliefs of one group of participants, who have been identified as particularly critical to the success of volunteer computing projects, about the organizational policies of climateprediction.net and what are appropriate and inappropriate ways for other participants to behave in the forums.