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. …

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 …

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 …

Ship Space To Database: Scientific And Social Motivations For A Database To Support Deep Subseafloor Biosphere Research, Peter Darch, Christine L. Borgman

Christine L. Borgman

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. …

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

Christine L. Borgman

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 …