| Although the production of primary documents and records is fundamental to the conduct of contemporary science, there has been little research into this topic. And yet, in the current climate of increased scrutiny of the scientific enterprise, there exists a pressing need to investigate the topic. This dissertation reports on a study in which, using ethnographic methods and archival analysis of primary documents, I studied recordkeeping as it is practiced in a basic research science laboratory. I conceptualize the record as a fluid, idiosyncratic, and personally embodied document, which may only indirectly reflect professional standards. I also examine the record as an actor in the trajectories of individual careers and lives as well as the history of the laboratory and explore how individual scientists mesh their personal styles and recordkeeping needs with the needs of the group, the discipline, and the profession. In the discussion and conclusion, I suggest that the record as a liminal document and boundary object between multiple communities of practice is an ambiguous object, and that such ambiguity is both a resource and a problematic. This research project has import for a number of areas, both applied and theoretical—science studies, electronic records management, and science policy and education. |
