Laboratory Studies

Posted by Nancy Van House on August 03rd 2011 to

one could argue that STS really started with laboratory studies. Although they aren’t central to STS any more, they were important for taking an empirical, ethnographic approach to scientific knowledge construction.  Their innovation was in looking inside scientific knowledge construction, instead of accepting science’s own version of its search for truth.  Thus they’re important for understanding STS’ innovative and critical approach to knowledge construction, which has implications for design of information systems, search and retrieval, and design as a process of knowledge construction. We won’t spend much time on this but, if you’re serious about STS, you should read the classic laboratory studies.

 

Paul Doing, Give me a laboratory and I will raise a discipline. In:  Hackett, E. J., & Society for Social Studies of Science. (2008). The handbook of science and technology studies (3rd ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. pp. 279-286

 

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